Old Biology Hall · Photo: User:Stephen Sommerhalter · CC BY 3.0Hamilton’s library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Hamilton Public Library serves 4,107 people in and around Hamilton. Last year it lent 53K books, movies and e-books and logged 37K visits.
The short version on Hamilton’s library
Hamilton’s kids borrow the most in New York
Out of 241 New York towns with a library of their own, Hamilton comes first for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #15 for library use and #17 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Hamilton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hamilton Public Library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. 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.
What’s behind Hamilton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hamilton is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #189 of 751 in New York. Hamilton is graded on two of the three inputs. Hamilton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
51 community nonprofits are registered in Hamilton
8.0 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 (6 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.
6.8%
6.8% of Hamilton’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 Hamilton’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hamilton Public Library serves 4,107 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
53K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
12,212 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.
2 places to borrow in Hamilton
Hamilton Public Library, 13 Broad Street, Hamilton.
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 Hamilton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hamilton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hamilton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $197K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $823K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $197K 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 3,428 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | Hamilton Public Library fine-free | 12.9 | 46 | B+ |
| Sherburne | Sherburne Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 39 | B− |
| Madison | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Lebanon | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Brookfield | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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 Hamilton
Does Hamilton have a public library?
Yes. Hamilton Public Library, 13 Broad Street, serves 4,107 people in and around Hamilton (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamilton Public 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 Hamilton’s library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hamilton’s civic life grade?
B+ Hamilton is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #189 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 Hamilton.
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.