Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0Brighton’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Brighton Memorial Library serves Brighton’s 37,137 residents. Last year it lent 554K books, movies and e-books and logged 187K visits.
Brighton’s library, in brief
Brighton ranks 6th in New York for kids’ borrowing
Out of 241 New York towns with a library of their own, Brighton comes 6th for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #9 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Brighton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Brighton Memorial Library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 33 items per child in Brighton last year. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 102,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, on average. 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 Brighton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brighton is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #225 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 →
160 community nonprofits are registered in Brighton
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Brighton’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 Brighton’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Brighton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Brighton Memorial Library serves 37,137 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 185 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
554K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 102K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, on average.
95,258 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Brighton Memorial Library, 2300 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester.
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 Brighton? 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 $3.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brighton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 21,463 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Brighton ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsford | Pittsford Community Library | 17.9 | 61 | A |
| Brighton | Brighton Memorial Library fine-free | 14.9 | 58 | B+ |
| Penfield | Penfield Public Library | 10.9 | 60 | B |
| Henrietta | Henrietta Public Library fine-free | 9.6 | 63 | C+ |
| Irondequoit | Irondequoit Public Library | 8.9 | 55 | B− |
| Chili | Chili Public Library | 8.2 | 64 | C |
| Rochester | Rochester Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 51 | C+ |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Brighton
Does Brighton have a public library?
Yes. Brighton Memorial Library, 2300 Elmwood Avenue, serves Brighton’s 37,137 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brighton 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 Brighton’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 14.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Brighton’s civic life grade?
B+ Brighton is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #225 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 Brighton.
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.