Genesee’s library runs 149 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Genesee Library serves Genesee’s 1,633 residents. Last year it lent 2,093 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,770 visits.
Genesee’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Genesee Library serves 1,633 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 22 hours a week
Genesee Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Genesee Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 244 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 16 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Genesee Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 90% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
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 Genesee’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Genesee is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Genesee
4.5 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Genesee’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 Genesee’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Genesee Library serves 1,633 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.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2,093 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,137 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
437 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Genesee last year.
Find it
Genesee Library, 8351 State Route 417, Little Genesee.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Genesee? 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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Genesee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $64K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $66K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $64K 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 206 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Genesee ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portville | Portville Free Library | 4.1 | 32 | B− |
| Bolivar | Bolivar Free Library fine-free | 3.8 | 20 | C |
| Genesee | Genesee Library fine-free | 1.3 | 22 | B |
| Clarksville | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Genesee
Does Genesee have a public library?
Yes. Genesee Library, 8351 State Route 417, serves Genesee’s 1,633 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Genesee 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 Genesee’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Genesee’s civic life grade?
B Genesee is ahead of 56% 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 Genesee.
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.