Photo: Unknown artistUnknown artist · Public domainBolivar’s library runs 125 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Bolivar Free Library serves Bolivar’s 1,010 residents. Last year it lent 3,879 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,215 visits.
Bolivar’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
53% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 46%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Bolivar Free Library serves 1,010 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Bolivar Free Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Bolivar Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003. Today’s library there has 3,072 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 126 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Bolivar’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bolivar is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$71K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Bolivar
3.4 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.8%
5.8% of Bolivar’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 Bolivar’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2003
Bolivar Free Library, 390 Main Street, Bolivar.
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 Bolivar? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Bolivar Free Library
Bolivar Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 5, 2003. It is significant for its social history and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival.
Bolivar Free Library is a historic Carnegie library building located at Bolivar in Allegany County, New York. It is one of 3,000 such libraries constructed between 1885 and 1919. Carnegie provided $5,000 toward the construction of the Bolivar Free Library. It is a 48-by-32-foot (14.6 by 9.8 m), Mission style structure constructed 1910–1911. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bolivar Free Library serves 1,010 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
3,879 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
1,492 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Bolivar last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bolivar cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $55K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $79K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $55K 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 626 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Bolivar
Does Bolivar have a public library?
Yes. Bolivar Free Library, 390 Main Street, serves Bolivar’s 1,010 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bolivar 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 Bolivar’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bolivar’s civic life grade?
C+ Bolivar is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Bolivar.
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.