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Downtown Canandaigua, NYPhoto: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
Wood Library · part of Wood Library Association

Canandaigua’s library is a branch of Wood Library Association, which lends more per resident than 73% of systems its size

Canandaigua’s library is the Wood Library, a branch of Wood Library Association, which serves 26,977 people and lent 229K items last year.

134 North Main Street, Canandaigua 14424 · about 65 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 79% of U.S. towns · #140 of 751 in New York. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (585) 394-1381 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
229K
8.5 per resident
Visits a year
84K
3.1 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
1,032
about 20 a week · 26K attended
Cardholders
43%
11,693 cards
Open
65 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Canandaigua’s library

Twice the programs of a typical library its size

The Wood Library Association system ran 1,032 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 38 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 26,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓

Open about 65 hours a week

The Canandaigua branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓

Programs lean toward adults

57% of the 1,032 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 278 were for children. 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; Canandaigua’s library is a branch of Wood Library Association, so they cover the whole system (26,977 people), not just the Canandaigua branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Canandaigua’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Canandaigua is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #140 of 751 in New York. Canandaigua is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Canandaigua’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureBCommunity nonprofits4.4 per 1,000 residents · NY towns 4.2 · U.S. 3.7A−Volunteering9.7% of adults 25–44 · NY towns 7.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 79%
FewerMore
New York towns we grade (751)Ahead of 81%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $49K–$81K (8,534)Ahead of 77%

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. 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

47 community nonprofits are registered in Canandaigua

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

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture20.18 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation50.46 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans100.96 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services100.92 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education60.57 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health30.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other90.86 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

9.7%

9.7% of Canandaigua’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 Canandaigua’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 5 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Canandaigua →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5220
Ages 6–1158
Teens134
Adults590
All ages30
Little ones
4.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

77K
kids’ books & media borrowed
26K
people at programs
1,032
programs
How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 3.1 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 60%
Borrowing per resident 6.3 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 73%
Digital borrowing 2.2 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 76%
Kids’ borrowing 2.9 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 73%
Program attendance 1 attendees · typical 0.3Top 10%
Programs offered 38.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Top 10%
Cardholders 43% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 58%
Spending $47 per resident · typical $40Higher than 59%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Wood Library Association serves 26,977 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 68 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wood Library Association system. The library’s own count.

84K
visits
3.1 per resident
229K
loans, print + digital
8.5 per resident
1,032
programs & events
26K attended
12K
library cards
43% of people served
Every open hour68items borrowed
Every week506people at a program
Every day25Wi-Fi sessions
14 staff (full-time equivalent)19 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

229K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

229Kloans
Books & media (adults) 40%Kids’ books & media 34%E-books, audio & streaming 26%
From your couch

59,517 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Wood Library, 134 North Main Street, Canandaigua.

Directions(585) 394-1381
65
hours open a week
15,650
square feet
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. Good at every Wood Library Association branch.

New in Canandaigua? 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 $2.91 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
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
$348
a year at retail prices · $29 a month

Who pays for it
$47 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.

Local taxes 77%State 1%Gifts & other 23%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 11,693 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Wood Library is one branch of Wood Library Association, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 26,977 people it serves.

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 Canandaigua

Does Canandaigua have a public library?

Yes: Wood Library, 134 North Main Street, is a branch of Wood Library Association, which serves 26,977 people. The branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Wood Library Association 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 Canandaigua’s library?

It logged 3.1 visits and lent 8.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Canandaigua’s civic life grade?

A− Canandaigua is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #140 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 Canandaigua.

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.