Charlotte’s library runs 126 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sinclairville Free Library serves 3,309 people in and around Charlotte. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Charlotte’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Sinclairville Free Library ran 416 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 126 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,010 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
42% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 56%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 416 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 158 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; Sinclairville Free Library serves 3,309 people in and around Charlotte, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Charlotte’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Charlotte is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Charlotte is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Charlotte’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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Charlotte
6.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
10.2%
10.2% of Charlotte’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 Charlotte’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sinclairville Free Library serves 3,309 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sinclairville Free Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
13K 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.
Find it
Sinclairville Free Library, 15 Main Street, Sinclairville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sinclairville Free Library branch.
New in Charlotte? 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 $2.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Charlotte cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $86K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $227K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $86K 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 1,508 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stockton | Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library fine-free | 2.1 | 16 | B− |
| Charlotte | Sinclairville Free Library fine-free | — | 27 | A |
| Sinclairville | Sinclairville Free Library fine-free | — | 27 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Gerry | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Arkwright | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cherry Creek | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Villenova | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Sinclairville Free Library serves 3,309 people in and around Charlotte, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Charlotte.
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 Charlotte
Does Charlotte have a public library?
Yes. Sinclairville Free Library, 15 Main Street, serves 3,309 people in and around Charlotte (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sinclairville 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 Charlotte’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Charlotte’s civic life grade?
A Charlotte is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Charlotte.
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.