Photo: Zotdragon · CC BY 3.0East Greenbush’s library lends 18 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
East Greenbush Community Library serves East Greenbush’s 16,748 residents. Last year it lent 375K books, movies and e-books and logged 132K visits.
What East Greenbush’s library is like
East Greenbush ranks 2nd in New York for kids’ borrowing
Out of 241 New York towns with a library of their own, East Greenbush comes 2nd for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #3 for borrowing and #20 for library use. How it compares ↓
East Greenbush uses its library more than almost any town its size
East Greenbush Community Library logs 7.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 18 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 93% 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 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 53 items per child in East Greenbush last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 21% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
25,000 people came to the library’s 696 programs last year: 1.5 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 96% 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.
What’s behind East Greenbush’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Greenbush is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #193 of 751 in New York. Library visits hold the grade up; East Greenbush’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
59 community nonprofits are registered in East Greenbush
3.5 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. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of East Greenbush’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 East Greenbush’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in East Greenbush last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Greenbush Community Library serves 16,748 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 114 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
375K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 73K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average.
77,823 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
East Greenbush Community Library, 10 Community Way, East Greenbush.
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 East Greenbush? 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 $2.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Greenbush cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.2M 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 7,417 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Greenbush 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Greenbush | East Greenbush Community Library fine-free | 22.4 | 63 | B+ |
| Schodack | Castleton Public Library fine-free | 21.9 | 50 | B+ |
| North Greenbush | North Greenbush Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 49 | C− |
| Sand Lake | Sand Lake Town Library | 6.4 | 43 | B− |
| Rensselaer | Rensselaer Public Library fine-free | 2.7 | 43 | C− |
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | A |
| Hampton Manor | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 East Greenbush
Does East Greenbush have a public library?
Yes. East Greenbush Community Library, 10 Community Way, serves East Greenbush’s 16,748 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Greenbush Community 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 East Greenbush’s library?
It logged 7.9 visits and lent 22.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East Greenbush’s civic life grade?
B+ East Greenbush is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #193 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 East Greenbush.
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.