Edmeston’s library logs 1.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Edmeston Free Library serves Edmeston’s 1,907 residents. Last year it lent 1,987 print books and media and logged 3,081 visits.
The short version on Edmeston’s library
Edmeston Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
Edmeston Free Library records 1.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $29 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Edmeston Free Library serves 1,907 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 ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Edmeston Free Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
31% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 9%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people Edmeston Free Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Edmeston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Edmeston is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns. Edmeston’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Edmeston
6.4 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.6%
10.6% of Edmeston’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 Edmeston’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Edmeston Free Library serves 1,907 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,987 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 6,401 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.
35 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Edmeston last year.
Find it
Edmeston Free Library, 6 West Street, Edmeston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Edmeston? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edmeston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $56K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $37K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $56K 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 349 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmeston | Edmeston Free Library fine-free | 1.0 | 19 | B+ |
| Columbus | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Brookfield | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| South Edmeston | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Burlington | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Pittsfield | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Plainfield | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Burlington Flats | 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 Edmeston
Does Edmeston have a public library?
Yes. Edmeston Free Library, 6 West Street, serves Edmeston’s 1,907 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edmeston 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 Edmeston’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Edmeston’s civic life grade?
B+ Edmeston is ahead of 67% 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 Edmeston.
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.