Masonville’s library is a branch of Sidney Memorial Public Library, which lends more per resident than 71% of systems its size
Masonville’s library is the Masonville Branch Library, a branch of Sidney Memorial Public Library, which serves 7,317 people and lent 46K items last year.
Masonville’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
42% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 50%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 561 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Sidney Memorial Public Library system spends $92 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 75% of similar-size libraries. 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; Masonville’s library is a branch of Sidney Memorial Public Library, so they cover the whole system (7,317 people), not just the Masonville branch.
What’s behind Masonville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Masonville is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Masonville is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Masonville’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Masonville
1.8 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.7%
9.7% of Masonville’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 Masonville’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Masonville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $674K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $775K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $674K 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 4,059 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sidney Memorial Public Library serves 7,317 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sidney Memorial Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
46K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,149 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 kids’ programs a week
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.
Find it
Masonville Branch Library, 15565 State Highway 8, Masonville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sidney Memorial Public Library branch.
New in Masonville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afton | Afton Free Library | 2.8 | 30 | C+ |
| Bainbridge | Bainbridge Free Library fine-free | 2.7 | 25 | C+ |
| Masonville | Masonville Branch Library fine-free | — | 23 | C+ |
| Sidney | Sidney Memorial Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | A |
| Sanford | Deposit Free Library | — | 36 | A− |
| Tompkins | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Deposit | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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.
- System-wide. Masonville Branch Library is one branch of Sidney Memorial Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 7,317 people it serves.
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 Masonville
Does Masonville have a public library?
Yes: Masonville Branch Library, 15565 State Highway 8, is a branch of Sidney Memorial Public Library, which serves 7,317 people. The branch is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sidney Memorial Public 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 Masonville’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Masonville’s civic life grade?
C+ Masonville is ahead of 39% 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 Masonville.
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.