Carroll’s library runs 74 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Myers Memorial Library serves Carroll’s 3,456 residents. Last year it lent 20K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Carroll’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
45% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 53%. What your card is worth ↓
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Myers Memorial Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in New York for kids’ borrowing
Carroll ranks #24 of 241 New York towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 84% of similar-size libraries. 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 Carroll’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Carroll is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #148 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Carroll
5.0 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.2%
11.2% of Carroll’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 Carroll’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Carroll last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Myers Memorial Library serves 3,456 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
20K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Myers Memorial Library, 26 Ivory Street, Frewsburg.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Carroll? 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 $3.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carroll cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $96K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $317K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $96K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,723 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Carroll borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll | Myers Memorial Library | 5.9 | 33 | A− |
| Frewsburg | Myers Memorial Library | 5.9 | 33 | — graded as part of its town |
| Poland | Kennedy Free Library fine-free | 4.4 | 38 | C+ |
| Kiantone | None of its own | — | — | C |
| South Valley | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Carroll
Does Carroll have a public library?
Yes. Myers Memorial Library, 26 Ivory Street, serves Carroll’s 3,456 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Myers Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Carroll’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 5.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Carroll’s civic life grade?
A− Carroll is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #148 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 Carroll.
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.