Photo: Pubdog · Public domainBatavia’s library runs 46 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Richmond Memorial Library serves 18,640 people in and around Batavia. Last year it lent 117K print books and media and logged 89K visits.
The short version on Batavia’s library
The branch is a National Register landmark
Richmond Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. Today’s library there has 26,000 square feet. The building ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Batavia branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
77% of the people it serves carry a library card
14,445 cards for 18,640 people, or 77%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Richmond Memorial Library spends $90 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Richmond Memorial Library serves 18,640 people in and around Batavia, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Batavia’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Batavia is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #103 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Batavia’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Batavia
6.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.8%
8.8% of Batavia’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 Batavia’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Richmond Memorial Library serves 18,640 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Richmond Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
117K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
A National Register landmark since 1974
Richmond Memorial Library, 19 Ross Street, Batavia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Richmond Memorial Library branch.
New in Batavia? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Richmond Memorial Library
Richmond Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 24, 1974. It is significant for its education and architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival.
The Richmond Memorial Library is located on Ross Street in Batavia, New York, United States. It is an 1880s stone structure in the Richardsonian Romanesque style designed by Rochester architect James Goold Cutler.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Batavia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 14,445 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Richmond Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Richmond Memorial Library serves 18,640 people in and around Batavia, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Batavia.
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 Batavia
Does Batavia have a public library?
Yes. Richmond Memorial Library, 19 Ross Street, serves 18,640 people in and around Batavia (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richmond Memorial 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 Batavia’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 6.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Batavia’s civic life grade?
A− Batavia is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #103 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 Batavia.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.