Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0Evans’ library logs 22 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Angola Public Library serves 2,046 people in and around Evans. Last year it lent 34K print books and media and logged 44K visits.
Evans’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
4,683 cards for 2,046 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 ↓
Evans uses its library more than almost any town its size
Angola Public Library logs 22 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 156 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 57 were for children. 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 Evans’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Evans is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #640 of 751 in New York. Evans is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$91K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
39 community nonprofits are registered in Evans
2.6 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 (9 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.
6.4%
6.4% of Evans’ 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 Evans’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Angola Public Library serves 2,046 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
34K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
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.
Find it
Angola Public Library, 34 North Main Street, Angola.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Evans? 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 $3.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Evans cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $182K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $547K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $182K 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 4,683 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Evans borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evans | Angola Public Library fine-free | 16.5 | 36 | C− |
| Eden | Eden Library fine-free | 5.9 | 33 | C+ |
| Hamburg | Hamburg Public Library fine-free | 5.1 | 54 | C |
| Lake Erie Beach | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Highland-on-the-Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Angola on the Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Brant | None of its own | — | — | C |
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. Evans’ 44,437 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 Evans
Does Evans have a public library?
Yes. Angola Public Library, 34 North Main Street, serves 2,046 people in and around Evans (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Angola Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Evans’ library?
It logged 21.7 visits and lent 16.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Evans’ civic life grade?
C− Evans is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #640 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 Evans.
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.