Photo: Former Wikipedia user Wikilagata (C.C. Sabathia) · Public domainCarmel’s library runs 65 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Reed Memorial Library serves Carmel’s 8,976 residents. Last year it lent 17K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Carmel’s library
New York pays a big share
85% of the budget comes from the state, and 11% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Carmel’s library lends 1.8 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Somers at 7.6. Libraries next door ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Reed Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today’s library there has 2,200 square feet. The buildings ↓
Programs lean toward adults
65% of the 584 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 201 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.
What’s behind Carmel’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Carmel is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #521 of 751 in New York. Carmel is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Carmel’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($99K–$165K) 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 →
92 community nonprofits are registered in Carmel
2.7 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.6%
7.6% of Carmel’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 Carmel’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Reed Memorial Library, 1733 Route 6, Carmel.
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 Carmel? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Reed Memorial Library
Reed Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 28, 1980. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Tudor Revival.
Reed Memorial Library is located at the junction of US 6 and NY 52 in Carmel, New York, United States. It is the oldest library building in Putnam County, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
More about the building →Other libraries in Carmel
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Reed Memorial Library serves 8,976 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
17K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Carmel last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carmel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $398K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $343K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $398K 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 3,784 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Carmel ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somers | The Somers Library fine-free | 7.6 | 47 | B+ |
| Kent | Kent Public Library | 5.5 | 46 | B |
| Lake Carmel | Kent Public Library | 5.5 | 46 | — graded as part of its town |
| Putnam Valley | Putnam Valley Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 44 | B |
| Southeast | Brewster Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 52 | C |
| Carmel | Reed Memorial Library fine-free | 1.8 | 42 | C |
| Mahopac | Mahopac Public Library fine-free | — | 63 | — 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.
- 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 Carmel
Does Carmel have a public library?
Yes. Reed Memorial Library, 1733 Route 6, serves Carmel’s 8,976 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Reed 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 Carmel’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Carmel’s civic life grade?
C Carmel is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #521 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 Carmel.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.