Thomas Cole House · Photo: Dmadeo · CC BY-SA 3.0Catskill’s library runs 52 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Catskill Public Library serves 11,969 people in and around Catskill from 2 locations. Last year it lent 58K print books and media and logged 32K visits.
The short version on Catskill’s library
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 623 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 188 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Catskill Public Library spends $91 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Catskill Public Library serves 11,969 people in and around Catskill, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Catskill’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Catskill is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #424 of 751 in New York. Catskill’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$87K) 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 →
53 community nonprofits are registered in Catskill
4.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of Catskill’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 Catskill’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Catskill Public Library serves 11,969 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Catskill Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
58K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Catskill
Catskill Public Library, 1 Franklin St., Catskill.
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 Catskill Public Library branch.
New in Catskill? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Catskill Public Library branches in Catskill
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Catskill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $957K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 7,732 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germantown | Germantown Library fine-free | 9.9 | 35 | A− |
| Saugerties | Saugerties Public Library fine-free | 6.3 | 44 | B+ |
| Cairo | Cairo Public Library | 5.4 | 36 | B− |
| Athens | D.R. Evarts Library fine-free | 2.8 | 42 | B− |
| Catskill | Catskill Public Library fine-free | — | 42 | C+ |
| Hunter | Mountain Top Library fine-free | — | 38 | — too few inputs |
| Palenville | Palenville Branch Library fine-free | — | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Livingston | Livingston Free Library fine-free | — | 16 | A |
| South Cairo | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Greenport | None of its own | — | — | A |
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.
- System-wide. Catskill Public Library serves 11,969 people in and around Catskill, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Catskill.
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 Catskill
Does Catskill have a public library?
Yes. Catskill Public Library, 1 Franklin St., serves 11,969 people in and around Catskill (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Catskill Public 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 Catskill’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Catskill’s civic life grade?
C+ Catskill is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #424 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 Catskill.
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.