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Avon Free Library

Avon’s library lends 6.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Avon Free Library serves 6,939 people in and around Avon. Last year it lent 61K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.

143 Genesee Street, Avon 14414 · about 48 hours a week
B+Civic lifeAhead of 67% of U.S. towns · #235 of 751 in New York. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
61K
8.8 per resident
Visits a year
29K
4.2 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
445
about 9 a week · 4,969 attended
Cardholders
38%
2,666 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week
In brief

What Avon’s library is like

Above typical on nearly every measure

Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Avon Free Library is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓

Avon Free Library serves more than Avon

The library’s service area covers 6,939 people in and around Avon, 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Avon’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Avon is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #235 of 751 in New York. Avon is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

B+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Avon’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 67%
FewerMore
New York towns we grade (751)Ahead of 69%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $54K–$90K (9,127)Ahead of 65%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Avon is small (3,434 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

14 community nonprofits are registered in Avon

4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation30.85 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.73 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.44 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.59 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other31.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.8%

8.8% of Avon’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 Avon’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4.2 visits · typical 3Higher than 67%
Borrowing per resident 6.6 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 77%
Digital borrowing 2.2 e-items · typical 1Higher than 81%
Kids’ borrowing 2.9 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 75%
Program attendance 0.7 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 64%
Programs offered 64.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 77%
Cardholders 38% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 55%
Spending $43 per resident · typical $43Higher than 51%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in NY#88Most-used librariesof 241 towns
#55Most library borrowingof 241 towns
#59Best libraries for kidsof 241 towns
Size group

Avon Free Library serves 6,939 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

29K
visits
4.2 per resident
61K
loans, print + digital
8.8 per resident
445
programs & events
4,969 attended
2,666
library cards
38% of people served
Every open hour24items borrowed
Every week96people at a program
Every day5Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)10 public computers25K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

61K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

61Kloans
Books & media (adults) 42%Kids’ books & media 33%E-books, audio & streaming 25%
How hard the shelves work
1.9×

Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.

From your couch

15,460 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 4 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Avon →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5140
Ages 6–1159
Teens26
Adults215
All ages5
Little ones
2.7

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

20K
kids’ books & media borrowed
4,969
people at programs
445
programs
The building

Find it

Avon Free Library, 143 Genesee Street, Avon.

48
hours open a week
5,000
square feet
25K
books & media
With a card

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 Avon? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.20 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Avon cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$348
a year at retail prices · $29 a month

Who pays for it
$43 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $301K.

Local taxes 75%State 1%Federal 7%Gifts & other 17%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $963K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $301K 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 2,666 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
AvonAvon Free Library fine-free8.848B+
CaledoniaCaledonia Library Association3.928C−

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Avon

Does Avon have a public library?

Yes. Avon Free Library, 143 Genesee Street, serves 6,939 people in and around Avon (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Avon 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 Avon’s library?

It logged 4.2 visits and lent 8.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Avon’s civic life grade?

B+ Avon is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #235 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 Avon.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.