Howard’s library runs 108 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Howard Public Library serves Howard’s 1,389 residents. Last year it lent 4,616 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,414 visits.
The short version on Howard’s library
A small-town library
Howard Public Library serves 1,389 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
Howard Public Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Dormann Library in Bath, next door, is open about 44 hours a week. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people Howard Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Howard’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Howard is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Howard Public Library spends $27 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$92K) 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Howard
2.1 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.
4.2%
4.2% of Howard’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 Howard’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Howard Public Library serves 1,389 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,616 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
599 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Howard last year.
Find it
Howard Public Library, 3607 County Route 70a, 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 Howard? 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 $2.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Howard cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $38K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $80K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $38K 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 258 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Howard borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | Howard Public Library fine-free | 3.3 | 22 | D |
| Canisteo | Wimodaughsian Free Library fine-free | 2.9 | 35 | C− |
| Avoca | Avoca Free Library fine-free | 2.6 | 34 | C− |
| Hornellsville | Arkport Public Library fine-free | — | 27 | D− |
| Bath | Dormann Library fine-free | — | 44 | C− |
| Cohocton | Cohocton Public Library fine-free | — | 44 | B+ |
| Fremont | 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.
- 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 Howard
Does Howard have a public library?
Yes. Howard Public Library, 3607 County Route 70a, serves Howard’s 1,389 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Howard 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 Howard’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Howard’s civic life grade?
D Howard is ahead of 6% 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 Howard.
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.