Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Hudson’s library runs 208 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Hudson Area Association Library serves 10,367 people in and around Hudson. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 59K visits.
What Hudson’s library is like
Nine times the programs of a typical library its size
Hudson Area Association Library ran 2,156 programs last year, about 41 a week. That’s 208 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
42% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 57%. What your card is worth ↓
Hudson Area Association Library serves more than Hudson
The library’s service area covers 10,367 people in and around Hudson, 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 Hudson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hudson is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #54 of 751 in New York. Hudson is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hudson’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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Hudson
7.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (8 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.
9.8%
9.8% of Hudson’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 Hudson’s residents live; 2022.
About 27 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hudson Area Association Library serves 10,367 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
14,308 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hudson Area Association Library, 51 N. 5th St., Hudson.
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 Hudson? 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 $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hudson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $747K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $945K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $747K 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 5,782 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hudson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson | Hudson Area Association Library fine-free | 5.0 | 43 | A |
| Athens | D.R. Evarts Library fine-free | 2.8 | 42 | B− |
| Athens | D.R. Evarts Library fine-free | 2.8 | 42 | B− |
| Greenport | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Lorenz Park | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Hudson
Does Hudson have a public library?
Yes. Hudson Area Association Library, 51 N. 5th St., serves 10,367 people in and around Hudson (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hudson Area Association 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 Hudson’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hudson’s civic life grade?
A Hudson is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #54 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 Hudson.
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.