Berne’s library lends 5.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Berne Public Library serves Berne’s 2,689 residents. Last year it lent 25K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Berne’s library
Busy on a lean budget
Berne Public Library spends $29 per resident, less than 71% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). It’s still borrowed from more than 70% of them. What your card is worth ↓
More library cards than residents
2,710 cards for 2,689 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% 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 Berne’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Berne is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #175 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Berne’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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Berne
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of Berne’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 Berne’s residents live; 2022.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
9,388 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Berne Public Library serves 2,689 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Berne last year.
Find it
Berne Public Library, 1763 Helderberg Trail, Berne.
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 Berne? 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 $5.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Berne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $79K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $400K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $79K 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 2,710 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Berne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berne | Berne Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 40 | B+ |
| Rensselaerville | Rensselaerville Public Library fine-free | 7.3 | 27 | A− |
| Westerlo | Town of Westerlo Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 30 | B− |
| Middleburgh | Middleburgh Library fine-free | — | 39 | A− |
| New Scotland | Voorheesville Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | A |
| Knox | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Broome | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Wright | None of its own | — | — | 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 Berne
Does Berne have a public library?
Yes. Berne Public Library, 1763 Helderberg Trail, serves Berne’s 2,689 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Berne 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 Berne’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 9.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Berne’s civic life grade?
B+ Berne is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #175 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 Berne.
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.