Nichols’ library logs 2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library serves 2,347 people in and around Nichols. Last year it lent 6,257 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,599 visits.
What Nichols’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library serves 2,347 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library serves more than Nichols
The library’s service area covers 2,347 people in and around Nichols, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Nichols’ civic life grade
Nichols 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library serves 2,347 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
6,257 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
1,250 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
74 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.
Find it
George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library, 42 East River Road, Nichols.
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 Nichols? 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 $1.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nichols cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $80K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $105K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $80K 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 594 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 Nichols
Does Nichols have a public library?
Yes. George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library, 42 East River Road, serves 2,347 people in and around Nichols (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is George P. & Susan Platt Cady 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 Nichols’ library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Nichols’ civic life grade?
Nichols 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 Nichols.
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.