Photo: Walker, L. E., 1826-1916 -- Publisher · Public domainEllery’s library logs 30 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Bemus Point Public Library serves 306 people in and around Ellery. Last year it lent 9,190 print books and media and logged 9,222 visits.
The short version on Ellery’s library
More library cards than residents
1,182 cards for 306 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 ↓
Ellery uses its library more than almost any town its size
Bemus Point Public Library logs 30 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 30 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
59% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 33%. What your card is worth ↓
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Bemus Point Public Library ran 137 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 448 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,143 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 37% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% 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 Ellery’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ellery is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #283 of 751 in New York. Ellery is graded on two of the three inputs. Ellery’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Ellery
6.6 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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Ellery’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 Ellery’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bemus Point Public Library serves 306 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
9,190 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bemus Point Public Library, 13 Main Street, Bemus Point.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ellery? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ellery cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $136K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $163K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $136K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,182 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ellery 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellery | Bemus Point Public Library | 30.0 | 38 | B |
| Bemus Point | Bemus Point Public Library | 30.0 | 38 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Ellicott | Falconer Public Library | 12.6 | 43 | B− |
| Chautauqua | Mayville Library fine-free | 4.5 | 38 | A− |
| Stockton | Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library fine-free | 2.1 | 16 | B− |
| Gerry | None of its own | — | — | A |
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.
- Visits count everyone. Ellery’s 9,222 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- 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 Ellery
Does Ellery have a public library?
Yes. Bemus Point Public Library, 13 Main Street, serves 306 people in and around Ellery (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bemus Point Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ellery’s library?
It logged 30.1 visits and lent 30.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Ellery’s civic life grade?
B Ellery is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #283 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 Ellery.
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.