Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Long Lake’s library logs 24 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Raquette Lake Free Library serves 132 people in and around Long Lake. Last year it lent 3,623 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,210 visits.
Long Lake’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
668 cards for 132 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Raquette Lake Free Library logs 24 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 24 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
49% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 48%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 37% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Raquette Lake Free Library spends $472 per resident a year, about nine times the typical $54 for a library its size. 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; Raquette Lake Free Library serves 132 people in and around Long Lake, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Long Lake’s civic life grade
Long Lake 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Raquette Lake Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Raquette Lake Free Library serves 132 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,623 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
399 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
16 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
2 places to borrow in Long Lake
Raquette Lake Free Library, 1 Dillon Road, Raquette Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Raquette Lake Free Library branch.
New in Long Lake? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Raquette Lake Free Library branches in Long Lake
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Long Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $64K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K 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 668 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inlet | Town of Inlet Public Library fine-free | 14.7 | 18 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Webb | Old Forge Library fine-free | 11.1 | 41 | A+ |
| Indian Lake | Town of Indian Lake Public Library fine-free | 10.3 | 36 | A |
| Colton | Hepburn Library fine-free | 10.0 | 25 | A |
| Long Lake | Raquette Lake Free Library fine-free | — | 23 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Tupper Lake | Tupper Lake Public Library | — | 52 | B− |
| Harrietstown | Saranac Lake Free Library fine-free | — | 44 | A |
| Arietta | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Newcomb | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Minerva | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Piercefield | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 count everyone. Long Lake’s 3,210 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Raquette Lake Free Library serves 132 people in and around Long Lake, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Long Lake.
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 Long Lake
Does Long Lake have a public library?
Yes. Raquette Lake Free Library, 1 Dillon Road, serves 132 people in and around Long Lake (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Raquette Lake 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 Long Lake’s library?
It logged 24.3 visits and lent 27.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Long Lake’s civic life grade?
Long Lake 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 Long Lake.
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.