New Paltz’s library logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Elting Memorial Library serves 14,407 people in and around New Paltz. Last year it lent 103K books, movies and e-books and logged 80K visits.
New Paltz’s library, in brief
The library is a National Register landmark
Elting Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004. Today’s library there has 13,000 square feet. The building ↓
Elting Memorial Library serves more than New Paltz
The library’s service area covers 14,407 people in and around New Paltz, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 580 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 138 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.
What’s behind New Paltz’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Paltz is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #83 of 751 in New York. New Paltz is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in New Paltz
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.0%
13.0% of New Paltz’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 New Paltz’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Elting Memorial Library serves 14,407 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
103K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
20,851 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
A National Register landmark since 2004
Elting Memorial Library, 93 Main Street, New Paltz.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Paltz? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Elting Memorial Library
Elting Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 2004. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial and Dutch Colonial and Early Republic and Federal.
Elting Memorial Library is the public library that serves the residents of the village and town of New Paltz, New York. It is located at 93 Main Street (also NY 32 and 299) in the village's downtown area.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Paltz cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $737K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $737K 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 8,686 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 New Paltz
Does New Paltz have a public library?
Yes. Elting Memorial Library, 93 Main Street, serves 14,407 people in and around New Paltz (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elting Memorial 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 New Paltz’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 7.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is New Paltz’s civic life grade?
A New Paltz is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #83 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 New Paltz.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.