Montgomery’s library runs 3.9 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Montgomery Free Library serves Montgomery’s 3,834 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 5,511 visits.
Montgomery’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Montgomery Free Library offered 15 programs last year, 3.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Montgomery Free Library holds 25,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Montgomery’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Montgomery is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #485 of 751 in New York. Montgomery’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($68K–$113K) 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Montgomery
4.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
7.4%
7.4% of Montgomery’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 Montgomery’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Montgomery Free Library serves 3,834 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
11K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 25K 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.
15 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Montgomery last year.
Find it
Montgomery Free Library, 133 Clinton Street, Montgomery.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Montgomery? 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 $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montgomery cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $111K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $179K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $111K 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 1,811 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 Montgomery
Does Montgomery have a public library?
Yes. Montgomery Free Library, 133 Clinton Street, serves Montgomery’s 3,834 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montgomery Free Library 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 Montgomery’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Montgomery’s civic life grade?
C+ Montgomery is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #485 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 Montgomery.
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.