Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0Amsterdam’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Amsterdam Free Library serves 23,776 people in and around Amsterdam. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
The short version on Amsterdam’s library
Amsterdam Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
Amsterdam Free Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $26 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Amsterdam Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2019. Today’s library there has 8,000 square feet. The building ↓
Amsterdam Free Library serves more than Amsterdam
The library’s service area covers 23,776 people in and around Amsterdam, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Amsterdam’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Amsterdam is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #433 of 751 in New York. Amsterdam is graded on two of the three inputs. Amsterdam’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$70K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
81 community nonprofits are registered in Amsterdam
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Amsterdam’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Amsterdam’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2019
Amsterdam Free Library, 28 Church Street, Amsterdam.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Amsterdam? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Amsterdam Free Library
Amsterdam Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 23, 2019. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Amsterdam Free Library serves 23,776 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
11,698 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Amsterdam cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $606K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $640K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $606K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 6,572 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Amsterdam Free Library fine-free | 1.5 | 56 | C+ |
| Florida | Fort Hunter Free Library fine-free | — | 27 | D |
| Fort Johnson | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Amsterdam
Does Amsterdam have a public library?
Yes. Amsterdam Free Library, 28 Church Street, serves 23,776 people in and around Amsterdam (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Amsterdam Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Amsterdam’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Amsterdam’s civic life grade?
C+ Amsterdam is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #433 of 751 in New York. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Amsterdam.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.