De Kalb’s library runs 184 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Richville Free Library serves 234 people in and around De Kalb. Last year it lent 1,841 print books and media and logged 1,884 visits.
What De Kalb’s library is like
Open only about 12 hours a week
Richville Free Library keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Canton Free Library in Canton, next door, is open about 50 hours a week. The building ↓
A small-town library
Richville Free Library serves 234 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
De Kalb out-borrows every town next door
At 7.9 loans per resident, De Kalb leads the five towns here. The closest is Oswegatchie, at 7.6. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind De Kalb’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, De Kalb is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns. De Kalb is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; De Kalb’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in De Kalb
2.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
4.8%
4.8% of De Kalb’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 De Kalb’s residents live; 2022.
43 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.
Richville Free Library serves 234 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,841 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,476 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Richville Free Library, 41 School Street, Richville.
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 De Kalb? 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 $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average De Kalb cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $21K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $31K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21K 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 180 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
De Kalb borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Kalb | Richville Free Library fine-free | 7.9 | 12 | D |
| Oswegatchie | Heuvelton Free Library fine-free | 7.6 | 31 | D |
| Canton | Canton Free Library fine-free | 4.5 | 50 | B− |
| Gouverneur | Reading Room Association of Gouverneur fine-free | 2.1 | 35 | D |
| Hermon | Hepburn Library of Hermon fine-free | 0.6 | 30 | C |
| De Peyster | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Macomb | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 De Kalb
Does De Kalb have a public library?
Yes. Richville Free Library, 41 School Street, serves 234 people in and around De Kalb (the survey’s count) and is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richville 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 De Kalb’s library?
It logged 8.1 visits and lent 7.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is De Kalb’s civic life grade?
D De Kalb is ahead of 13% 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 De Kalb.
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.