Photo: Sgerbic · CC BY-SA 4.0Cazenovia’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Cazenovia Public Library Society serves 6,740 people in and around Cazenovia. Last year it lent 95K books, movies and e-books and logged 82K visits.
The short version on Cazenovia’s library
Cazenovia ranks 4th in New York for library use
Out of 241 New York towns with a library of their own, Cazenovia comes 4th for visits per resident. It’s also #7 for kids’ borrowing and #11 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Cazenovia uses its library more than almost any town its size
Cazenovia Public Library Society logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
48% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 46%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. 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 Cazenovia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cazenovia is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #77 of 751 in New York. Cazenovia is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Cazenovia’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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Cazenovia
8.2 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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.6%
8.6% of Cazenovia’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 Cazenovia’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cazenovia Public Library Society serves 6,740 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
95K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
22,788 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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.
Find it
Cazenovia Public Library Society, 100 Albany Street, Cazenovia.
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 Cazenovia? 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 $2.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cazenovia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $523K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $523K 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 6,049 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Cazenovia
Does Cazenovia have a public library?
Yes. Cazenovia Public Library Society, 100 Albany Street, serves 6,740 people in and around Cazenovia (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cazenovia Public Library Society 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 Cazenovia’s library?
It logged 12.2 visits and lent 14.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cazenovia’s civic life grade?
A Cazenovia is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #77 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 Cazenovia.
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.