Photo: Vasiliymeshko · CC BY-SA 4.0Jamestown’s library runs 43 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
James Prendergast Library Association serves Jamestown’s 28,712 residents. Last year it lent 157K books, movies and e-books and logged 125K visits.
The short version on Jamestown’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
60% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 30%. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
James Prendergast Library Association ran 1,241 programs last year, about 24 a week. That’s 43 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 23,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Jamestown has a card
27,824 cards for 28,712 people, or 97%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans, more per resident than at 83% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 52%. What people borrow ↓
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 Jamestown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jamestown is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #127 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Jamestown’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 →
153 community nonprofits are registered in Jamestown
5.4 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 (47 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.3%
9.3% of Jamestown’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 Jamestown’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 Jamestown last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
James Prendergast Library Association serves 28,712 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
157K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 121K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
75,412 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
James Prendergast Library Association, 509 Cherry Street, Jamestown.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jamestown? 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 $2.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jamestown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 27,824 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Jamestown ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellicott | Falconer Public Library | 12.6 | 43 | B− |
| Jamestown | James Prendergast Library Association | 5.5 | 55 | A− |
| Busti | Lakewood Memorial Library fine-free | 3.5 | 44 | B+ |
| Jamestown West | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Kiantone | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Celoron | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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 Jamestown
Does Jamestown have a public library?
Yes. James Prendergast Library Association, 509 Cherry Street, serves Jamestown’s 28,712 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is James Prendergast Library Association fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Jamestown’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Jamestown’s civic life grade?
A− Jamestown is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #127 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 Jamestown.
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.