Grenadier Island Schoolhouse · Photo: Grenadier1812 · CC BY 2.5Cape Vincent’s library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Cape Vincent Community Library serves Cape Vincent’s 2,765 residents. Last year it lent 9,359 print books and media and logged 22K visits.
Cape Vincent’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 89% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 44%. The building also logs about 60 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 87% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
52% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 47%. What your card is worth ↓
Top 10% in New York for library use
Cape Vincent ranks #22 of 241 New York towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 7.8 visits per resident, more than at 89% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Cape Vincent Community Library logs about 60 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 3 public computers. That’s 7.9 sessions per resident a year. 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.
What’s behind Cape Vincent’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cape Vincent is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Cape Vincent’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Cape Vincent
10.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
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.
8.0%
8.0% of Cape Vincent’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 Cape Vincent’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cape Vincent Community Library serves 2,765 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
9,359 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
167 programs a year
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 Cape Vincent last year.
Find it
Cape Vincent Community Library, 157 North Real Street, Cape Vincent.
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 Cape Vincent? 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 $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cape Vincent cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $141K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $251K 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 1,405 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cape Vincent ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Cape Vincent
Does Cape Vincent have a public library?
Yes. Cape Vincent Community Library, 157 North Real Street, serves Cape Vincent’s 2,765 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cape Vincent Community 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 Cape Vincent’s library?
It logged 7.8 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cape Vincent’s civic life grade?
A Cape Vincent is ahead of 91% 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 Cape Vincent.
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.