Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Hyde Park’s library runs 43 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Hyde Park Library District serves Hyde Park’s 17,492 residents. Last year it lent 50K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
The short version on Hyde Park’s library
Every town next door borrows more
Hyde Park’s library lends 2.8 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Rhinebeck at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 750 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 144 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Hyde Park’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hyde Park is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #546 of 751 in New York. Hyde Park’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($65K–$109K) 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 →
82 community nonprofits are registered in Hyde Park
3.9 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Hyde Park’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 Hyde Park’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hyde Park Library District serves 17,492 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
50K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
17,670 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Hyde Park last year.
2 places to borrow in Hyde Park
Hyde Park Library District, 2 Main Street, Hyde Park.
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 Hyde Park? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hyde Park
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hyde Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $605K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $838K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $605K 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 5,246 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hyde Park ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhinebeck | Starr Library fine-free | 11.6 | 48 | A+ |
| Pleasant Valley | Pleasant Valley Free Library | 10.4 | 50 | A− |
| Esopus | Town of Esopus Library fine-free | 6.3 | 43 | B+ |
| Poughkeepsie | Boardman Road Branch Library fine-free | 5.0 | 58 | C− |
| Clinton | Clinton Community Library fine-free | 4.9 | 50 | A− |
| Hyde Park | Hyde Park Library District fine-free | 2.8 | 48 | C |
| Lloyd | Highland Public Library fine-free | — | 43 | B |
| Highland | Highland Public Library fine-free | — | 43 | — 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Hyde Park Library District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Hyde Park
Does Hyde Park have a public library?
Yes. Hyde Park Library District, 2 Main Street, serves Hyde Park’s 17,492 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hyde Park Library District 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 Hyde Park’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hyde Park’s civic life grade?
C Hyde Park is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #546 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 Hyde Park.
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.