Photo: Jim.henderson · CC BY 3.0Ardsley’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Ardsley Public Library serves Ardsley’s 5,079 residents. Last year it lent 89K books, movies and e-books and logged 58K visits.
The short version on Ardsley’s library
Ardsley uses its library more than almost any town its size
Ardsley Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ardsley ranks 5th in New York for library use
Out of 241 New York towns with a library of their own, Ardsley comes 5th for visits per resident. It’s also #6 for borrowing and #20 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Ardsley last year. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
Ardsley Public Library keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Dobbs Ferry Public Library in Dobbs Ferry, next door, is open about 50 hours a week. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Ardsley’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ardsley is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #20 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Ardsley
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.1%
10.1% of Ardsley’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 Ardsley’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 96 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ardsley Public Library serves 5,079 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 64K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
22,356 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Ardsley last year.
Find it
Ardsley Public Library, 9 American Legion Drive, Ardsley.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ardsley? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ardsley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $663K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $663K 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 3,101 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ardsley borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardsley | Ardsley Public Library fine-free | 17.6 | 18 | A+ |
| Irvington | Irvington Public Library Guiteau Foundation | 16.4 | 48 | A+ |
| Dobbs Ferry | Dobbs Ferry Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 50 | B+ |
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 Ardsley
Does Ardsley have a public library?
Yes. Ardsley Public Library, 9 American Legion Drive, serves Ardsley’s 5,079 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ardsley Public 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 Ardsley’s library?
It logged 11.5 visits and lent 17.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ardsley’s civic life grade?
A+ Ardsley is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Ardsley.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.