Hanover’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Anderson-Lee Library serves 9,674 people in and around Hanover. Last year it lent 10K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Hanover’s library
Anderson-Lee Library is used less than most libraries its size
Anderson-Lee Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
26% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 46%. What your card is worth ↓
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; Anderson-Lee Library serves 9,674 people in and around Hanover, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hanover’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hanover is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #121 of 751 in New York. Hanover is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hanover’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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Hanover
6.2 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Hanover’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 Hanover’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Anderson-Lee Library serves 9,674 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Anderson-Lee Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
10K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Anderson-Lee Library, 43 Main Street, Silver Creek.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Anderson-Lee Library branch.
New in Hanover? 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 $1.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hanover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $166K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $176K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $166K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,913 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover | Anderson-Lee Library | — | 35 | A− |
| Silver Creek | Anderson-Lee Library | — | 35 | A |
| Sunset Bay | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Perrysburg | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Sheridan | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Villenova | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Arkwright | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- System-wide. Anderson-Lee Library serves 9,674 people in and around Hanover, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hanover.
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 Hanover
Does Hanover have a public library?
Yes. Anderson-Lee Library, 43 Main Street, serves 9,674 people in and around Hanover (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Anderson-Lee Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hanover’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hanover’s civic life grade?
A− Hanover is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #121 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 Hanover.
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.