Photo: E. Bailey · Public domainEllicott’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Falconer Public Library serves 2,269 people in and around Ellicott. Last year it lent 28K print books and media and logged 19K visits.
What Ellicott’s library is like
Ellicott uses its library more than almost any town its size
Falconer Public Library logs 8.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
37% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. What your card is worth ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Falconer Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Three of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% 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 Ellicott’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ellicott is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #379 of 751 in New York. Ellicott is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Ellicott’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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Ellicott
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Ellicott’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 Ellicott’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Falconer Public Library serves 2,269 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
28K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Ellicott
Falconer Public Library, 101 West Main Street, Falconer.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ellicott? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Ellicott
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ellicott cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $166K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $458K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $166K 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 1,539 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ellicott ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellery | Bemus Point Public Library | 30.0 | 38 | B |
| Ellicott | Falconer Public Library | 12.6 | 43 | B− |
| Jamestown | James Prendergast Library Association | 5.5 | 55 | A− |
| Poland | Kennedy Free Library fine-free | 4.4 | 38 | C+ |
| Busti | Lakewood Memorial Library fine-free | 3.5 | 44 | B+ |
| Lakewood | Lakewood Memorial Library fine-free | 3.5 | 44 | A+ |
| Celoron | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Jamestown West | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| 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.
- 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 Ellicott
Does Ellicott have a public library?
Yes. Falconer Public Library, 101 West Main Street, serves 2,269 people in and around Ellicott (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Falconer 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 Ellicott’s library?
It logged 8.4 visits and lent 12.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Ellicott’s civic life grade?
B− Ellicott is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #379 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 Ellicott.
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.