Photo: Gshep92 · Public domainCroghan’s library lends 36 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Croghan Free Library serves 639 people in and around Croghan. Last year it lent 23K print books and media and logged 8,373 visits.
Croghan’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,029 cards for 639 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Croghan uses its library more than almost any town its size
Croghan Free Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 36 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Croghan Free Library serves 639 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 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 ↓
A place to get online
Croghan Free Library logs about 375 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 214 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Croghan’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Croghan is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #502 of 751 in New York. Croghan is graded on two of the three inputs. Croghan’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$90K) 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Croghan
4.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.8%
5.8% of Croghan’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 Croghan’s residents live; 2022.
74 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Croghan Free Library serves 639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
23K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Croghan
Croghan Free Library, 9794 State Route 812, Croghan.
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 Croghan? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Croghan
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $9.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Croghan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $81K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $740K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $81K 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 1,029 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croghan | Croghan Free Library fine-free | 35.7 | 24 | C |
| Wilna | Carthage Free Library fine-free | 5.4 | 46 | C+ |
| Diana | Harrisville Free Library fine-free | — | 40 | B− |
| New Bremen | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Denmark | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Watson | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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.
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 Croghan
Does Croghan have a public library?
Yes. Croghan Free Library, 9794 State Route 812, serves 639 people in and around Croghan (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Croghan 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 Croghan’s library?
It logged 13.1 visits and lent 35.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Croghan’s civic life grade?
C Croghan is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #502 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 Croghan.
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.