Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Hornell’s library runs 52 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hornell Public Library serves Hornell’s 8,263 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
What stands out about Hornell’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Hornell’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hornell is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #445 of 751 in New York. Hornell’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$59K) 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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Hornell
6.8 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 (11 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.
3.9%
3.9% of Hornell’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 Hornell’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1975
Hornell Public Library, 64 Genesee Street, Hornell.
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 Hornell? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hornell Public Library
Hornell Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Feb 24, 1975. It is significant for its architecture at the local level.
Hornell Public Library is a historic library building located at Hornell in Steuben County, New York, USA. It was designed in 1908 and dedicated in 1911, with funds provided by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It is one of 3,000 such libraries constructed between 1885 and 1919. Carnegie provided $25,000 toward the construction of the Hornell library.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hornell Public Library serves 8,263 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
7,197 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Hornell last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hornell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $399K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $640K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $399K 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 4,286 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornell | Hornell Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 39 | C+ |
| North Hornell | 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 Hornell
Does Hornell have a public library?
Yes. Hornell Public Library, 64 Genesee Street, serves Hornell’s 8,263 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hornell 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 Hornell’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hornell’s civic life grade?
C+ Hornell is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #445 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 Hornell.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.