Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct · Photo: Lvklock · CC BY-SA 3.0Camillus’ library runs 31 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Maxwell Memorial Library serves Camillus’s 20,767 residents. Last year it lent 95K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
What Camillus’s library is like
Every town next door borrows more
Camillus’s library lends 4.6 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Elbridge at 19. Libraries next door ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 16,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.1 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 Camillus’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Camillus is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #570 of 751 in New York. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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 →
79 community nonprofits are registered in Camillus
3.1 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Camillus’ 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 Camillus’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Maxwell Memorial Library serves 20,767 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
95K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average.
28,652 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Camillus last year.
2 places to borrow in Camillus
Maxwell Memorial Library, 14 Genesee Street, Camillus.
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 Camillus? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Camillus
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Camillus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $408K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $408K 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 5,196 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Camillus ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elbridge | Elbridge Free Library fine-free | 18.9 | 41 | C+ |
| Onondaga | Onondaga Free Library fine-free | 13.1 | 60 | C+ |
| Marcellus | Marcellus Free Library fine-free | 11.5 | 50 | A |
| Geddes | Solvay Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 55 | C+ |
| Solvay | Solvay Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 55 | B |
| Camillus | Maxwell Memorial Library fine-free | 4.6 | 50 | C |
| Fairmount | Fairmount Community Library fine-free | — | 47 | — graded as part of its town |
| Van Buren | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Westvale | 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 Camillus
Does Camillus have a public library?
Yes. Maxwell Memorial Library, 14 Genesee Street, serves Camillus’ 20,767 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Maxwell 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 Camillus’ library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Camillus’ civic life grade?
C Camillus is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #570 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 Camillus.
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.