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Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library

Ira’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library serves 4,587 people in and around Ira. Last year it lent 7,409 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,565 visits.

2577 East Main Street, Cato 13033 · about 25 hours a week
B−Civic lifeAhead of 46% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (315) 626-2101 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
7,409
1.6 per resident
Visits a year
2,565
0.6 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
32
about 1 a week · 129 attended
Cardholders
16%
723 cards
Open
25 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Ira’s library, in brief

Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size

Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 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 ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library offered 32 programs last year, 7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

28% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 71%. 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; Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library serves 4,587 people in and around Ira, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Ira’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ira is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns. Ira is graded on two of the three inputs. Ira’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Ira’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureB+Community nonprofits4.9 per 1,000 residents · NY towns 4.2 · U.S. 3.7CVolunteering6.1% of adults 25–44 · NY towns 7.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 46%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $73K–$121K (7,509)Ahead of 48%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Ira is small (2,109 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

10 community nonprofits are registered in Ira

4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.25 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation31.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.50 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.25 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.69 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.05 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.99 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

6.1%

6.1% of Ira’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 Ira’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.6 visits · typical 3Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 1.4 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 85%
Digital borrowing 0.3 e-items · typical 1Lower than 82%
Kids’ borrowing 0.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 84%
Program attendance 0 attendees · typical 0.5Bottom 10%
Programs offered 7 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 89%
Cardholders 16% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $17 per resident · typical $43Lower than 89%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library serves 4,587 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.

2,565
visits
0.6 per resident
7,409
loans, print + digital
1.6 per resident
32
programs & events
129 attended
723
library cards
16% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week2people at a program
Every day4Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)2 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

7,409 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

7,409loans
Books & media (adults) 55%Kids’ books & media 29%E-books, audio & streaming 16%
From your couch

1,202 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

32 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Ira →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51
Ages 6–110
Teens0
Adults25
All ages6
Little ones
0

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

2,164
kids’ books & media borrowed
129
people at programs
32
programs
The building

Find it

Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library, 2577 East Main Street, Cato.

Directions(315) 626-2101
25
hours open a week
2,280
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library branch.

New in Ira? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.56 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ira cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$17 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $76K.

Local taxes 71%State 1%Gifts & other 28%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $118K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $76K 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 723 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

Cato: no library of its ownLysander: Baldwinsville Public LibraryVictory: no library of its ownHannibal: 2.4 loans per residentGranby: no library of its ownCatoLysanderVictoryHannibalGranbyIra
12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
HannibalHannibal Free Library fine-free2.446D
IraStewart B. Lang Memorial Library fine-free—25B−
LysanderBaldwinsville Public Library fine-free—59C+
CatoNone of its own——C
VictoryNone of its own——C
GranbyNone of its own——C−

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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library serves 4,587 people in and around Ira, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ira.

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 Ira

Does Ira have a public library?

Yes. Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library, 2577 East Main Street, serves 4,587 people in and around Ira (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Stewart B. Lang Memorial 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 Ira’s library?

It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Ira’s civic life grade?

B− Ira is ahead of 46% 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 Ira.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.