Photo: Dclemens1971 · CC BY 4.0New York Mills’ library runs 2.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
New York Mills Public Library serves New York Mills’s 3,244 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,687 visits.
What stands out about New York Mills’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind New York Mills’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, New York Mills is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #602 of 751 in New York State. New York Mills’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
New York Mills’ 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in New York Mills
4.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.4%
3.4% of New York Mills’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York State 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 York Mills’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
New York Mills Public Library serves 3,244 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,103 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in New York Mills last year.
Find it
New York Mills Public Library, 399 Main Street, New York Mills.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New York Mills? 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 $1.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New York Mills cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $105K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $197K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $105K 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 1,391 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New York Mills ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hartford | New Hartford Public Library | 5.8 | 44 | C |
| New York Mills | New York Mills Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 38 | C− |
| Utica | Utica Public Library fine-free | 1.2 | 55 | D |
| Yorkville | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 are a typical-week estimate. New York Mills Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 York Mills
Does New York Mills have a public library?
Yes. New York Mills Public Library, 399 Main Street, serves New York Mills’ 3,244 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New York Mills 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 New York Mills’ library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is New York Mills’ civic life grade?
C− New York Mills is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #602 of 751 in New York State. 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 York Mills.
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.