Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Cattaraugus’ library runs 11 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Cattaraugus Free Library serves 1,981 people in and around Cattaraugus. Last year it lent 6,244 print books and media and logged 7,481 visits.
What Cattaraugus’s library is like
A small-town library
Cattaraugus Free Library serves 1,981 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 32 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Cattaraugus Free Library offered 21 programs last year, 11 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Cattaraugus Free Library serves more than Cattaraugus
The library’s service area covers 1,981 people in and around Cattaraugus, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cattaraugus’ civic life grade
Cattaraugus isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cattaraugus Free Library serves 1,981 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,244 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
21 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.
Find it
Cattaraugus Free Library, 21 Main Street, Cattaraugus.
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 Cattaraugus? 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 $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cattaraugus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $77K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $108K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $77K 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 749 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Cattaraugus
Does Cattaraugus have a public library?
Yes. Cattaraugus Free Library, 21 Main Street, serves 1,981 people in and around Cattaraugus (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cattaraugus Free 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 Cattaraugus’ library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 3.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cattaraugus’ civic life grade?
Cattaraugus isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Cattaraugus.
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.