Photo: Joegrimes at English Wikipedia · Public domainCicero’s library runs 21 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Northern Onondaga Public Library serves Cicero’s 57,438 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 432K books, movies and e-books and logged 124K visits.
Cicero’s library, in brief
The shelves work hard
Each of the 82,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Three places to borrow in Cicero
Northern Onondaga Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Cicero’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cicero is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #570 of 751 in New York. Cicero is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Cicero’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($72K–$121K) 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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in Cicero
3.2 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Cicero’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 Cicero’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Northern Onondaga Public Library serves 57,438 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
432K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 82K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average.
100,963 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Cicero last year.
3 places to borrow in Cicero
Nopl @ Cicero, 8686 Knowledge Lane, Cicero.
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 Cicero? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Cicero
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cicero cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 26,758 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cicero ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hastings | Central Square Library fine-free | 12.0 | 38 | C− |
| Cicero | Nopl @ Cicero fine-free | 7.5 | 50 | C |
| Brewerton | Nopl @ Brewerton fine-free | 7.5 | 51 | — graded as part of its town |
| Sullivan | Sullivan Free Library fine-free | 3.7 | 54 | B− |
| Bridgeport | Sullivan Free Library fine-free | 3.7 | 51 | — graded as part of its town |
| Manlius | Manlius Library fine-free | — | 58 | B |
| Constantia | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| West Monroe | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Clay | 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.
- 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 Cicero
Does Cicero have a public library?
Yes. Northern Onondaga Public Library, 8686 Knowledge Lane, serves Cicero’s 57,438 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northern Onondaga 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 Cicero’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Cicero’s civic life grade?
C Cicero is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #570 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 Cicero.
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.