Gouverneur’s library runs 14 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Reading Room Association of Gouverneur serves 6,551 people in and around Gouverneur. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Gouverneur’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
28% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓
Reading Room Association of Gouverneur serves more than Gouverneur
The library’s service area covers 6,551 people in and around Gouverneur, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Gouverneur’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gouverneur is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #691 of 751 in New York. Gouverneur is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Gouverneur’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Reading Room Association of Gouverneur spends $23 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$45K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Gouverneur
3.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.6%
3.6% of Gouverneur’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 Gouverneur’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Reading Room Association of Gouverneur serves 6,551 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
91 programs a year
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
Reading Room Association of Gouverneur, 60 Church Street, Gouverneur.
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 Gouverneur? 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 $1.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gouverneur cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $152K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $212K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $152K 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 2,897 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Gouverneur
Does Gouverneur have a public library?
Yes. Reading Room Association of Gouverneur, 60 Church Street, serves 6,551 people in and around Gouverneur (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Reading Room Association of Gouverneur 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 Gouverneur’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gouverneur’s civic life grade?
D Gouverneur is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #691 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 Gouverneur.
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.