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Roe Cobblestone SchoolhouseRoe Cobblestone Schoolhouse · Photo: DanielPenfield · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wolcott Public Library

Butler’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Wolcott Public Library serves 1,556 people in and around Butler. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,210 visits.

5890 New Hartford Street, Wolcott 14590 · about 31 hours a week
B−Civic lifeAhead of 55% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (315) 594-2265 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
21K
13.2 per resident
Visits a year
3,210
2.1 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
8
about 1 a week · 146 attended
Cardholders
70%
1,090 cards
Open
31 hrs
a week
In brief

Butler’s library, in brief

People borrow more than they stay

Borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 73%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Wolcott Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 5.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓

A small-town library

Wolcott Public Library serves 1,556 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 31 hours a week. 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 ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Butler’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Butler is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. Butler is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Butler’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Butler’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureB−Community nonprofits3.7 per 1,000 residents · NY towns 4.2 · U.S. 3.7BVolunteering8.2% of adults 25–44 · NY towns 7.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 55%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $38K–$63K (5,015)Ahead of 53%

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. Butler is small (1,801 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

6 community nonprofits are registered in Butler

3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture20.85 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans21.02 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services00.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.06 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.51 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.45 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.2%

8.2% of Butler’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 Butler’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

21Kloans
Books & media (adults) 56%Kids’ books & media 27%E-books, audio & streaming 18%
How hard the shelves work
1.5×

Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.

From your couch

3,640 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.1 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 73%
Borrowing per resident 10.9 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 89%
Digital borrowing 2.3 e-items · typical 1Higher than 79%
Kids’ borrowing 3.5 kids’ items · typical 1.4Higher than 80%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 89%
Programs offered 5.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Bottom 10%
Cardholders 70% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 63%
Spending $91 per resident · typical $54Higher than 79%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Wolcott Public Library serves 1,556 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

3,210
visits
2.1 per resident
21K
loans, print + digital
13.2 per resident
8
programs & events
146 attended
1,090
library cards
70% of people served
Every open hour13items borrowed
Every week3people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)10 public computers11K books & media on the shelves
Kids & programs

8 programs a year

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

Schools in Butler →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–50
Ages 6–110
Teens0
Adults8
All ages0
5,472
kids’ books & media borrowed
146
people at programs
8
programs
The building

Find it

Wolcott Public Library, 5890 New Hartford Street, Wolcott.

Directions(315) 594-2265
31
hours open a week
6,564
square feet
11K
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 Butler? 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 $2.25 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$91 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $141K.

Local taxes 86%State 2%Gifts & other 13%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $319K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $141K 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 1,090 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.

Wolcott: 17.4 loans per residentSavannah: no library of its ownVictory: no library of its ownHuron: no library of its ownGalen: Clyde-Savannah Public LibraryWolcottSavannahVictoryHuronGalenButler
12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
WolcottRed Creek Free Library fine-free17.432B−
ButlerWolcott Public Library fine-free13.231B−
GalenClyde-Savannah Public Library—35D
SavannahNone of its own——C+
VictoryNone of its own——C
HuronNone of its own——C+

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 Butler

Does Butler have a public library?

Yes. Wolcott Public Library, 5890 New Hartford Street, serves 1,556 people in and around Butler (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Wolcott 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 Butler’s library?

It logged 2.1 visits and lent 13.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Butler’s civic life grade?

B− Butler is ahead of 55% 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 Butler.

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.