Elma’s library lends 9.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Elma Public Library serves Elma’s 11,721 residents. Last year it lent 108K print books and media and logged 42K visits.
The short version on Elma’s library
Elma is a town of borrowers
Elma Public Library lends 9.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Elma last year. 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 Elma’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Elma is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #204 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Elma’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 Elma
5.1 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Elma’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 Elma’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
108K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 41K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Elma Public Library serves 11,721 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Elma last year.
Find it
Elma Public Library, 1860 Bowen Road, Elma.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Elma? 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 $4.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elma cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $384K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $384K 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 6,213 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Elma ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | Aurora Town Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 47 | A− |
| Elma | Elma Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 44 | B+ |
| Marilla | Marilla Free Library fine-free | 7.5 | 33 | B |
| Lancaster | Lancaster Public Library fine-free | 5.7 | 56 | C− |
| West Seneca | West Seneca Public Library fine-free | 5.4 | 52 | C− |
| Billington Heights | 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.
- 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 Elma
Does Elma have a public library?
Yes. Elma Public Library, 1860 Bowen Road, serves Elma’s 11,721 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elma Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elma’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 9.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Elma’s civic life grade?
B+ Elma is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #204 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 Elma.
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.