Kennedy’s library logs 2.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Kennedy Free Library serves 2,214 people in and around Kennedy. Last year it lent 9,731 print books and media and logged 5,761 visits.
What Kennedy’s library is like
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
38% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 61%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Kennedy Free Library serves 2,214 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 38 hours a week. 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 ↓
Kennedy Free Library serves more than Kennedy
The library’s service area covers 2,214 people in and around Kennedy, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 121 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 46 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Kennedy’s civic life grade
Kennedy isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Kennedy Free Library serves 2,214 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
9,731 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
121 programs a year
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.
Find it
Kennedy Free Library, 649 Second Street, Kennedy.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kennedy? 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 $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kennedy cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $97K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $162K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $97K 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 883 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Kennedy
Does Kennedy have a public library?
Yes. Kennedy Free Library, 649 Second Street, serves 2,214 people in and around Kennedy (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kennedy Free 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 Kennedy’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Kennedy’s civic life grade?
Kennedy isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Kennedy.
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.