Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 4.0North East’s library runs 155 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
North East- Millerton Library serves North East’s 2,971 residents. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
North East’s library, in brief
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
North East- Millerton Library ran 461 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 155 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,017 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
34% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 66%. What your card is worth ↓
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 North East’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North East is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #112 of 751 in New York. North East’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in North East
8.0 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of North East’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 North East’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in North East last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
North East- Millerton Library serves 2,971 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
6,711 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Northeast-Millerton Library, 75 Main Street, Millerton.
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 North East? 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 $1.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North East cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $237K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $430K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $237K 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 1,729 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North East ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | Scoville Memorial Library fine-free | 11.8 | 39 | A+ |
| Stanford | Stanford Free Library fine-free | 10.5 | 55 | A |
| North East | Northeast-Millerton Library fine-free | 8.7 | 33 | A− |
| Pine Plains | Pine Plains Free Library fine-free | 7.6 | 34 | A |
| Sharon | Hotchkiss Library of Sharon fine-free | 5.0 | 40 | A |
| Amenia | Amenia Free Library fine-free | 4.2 | 32 | A |
| Ancram | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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. North East- Millerton 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 North East
Does North East have a public library?
Yes. North East- Millerton Library, 75 Main Street, serves North East’s 2,971 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North East- Millerton 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 North East’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 8.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is North East’s civic life grade?
A− North East is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #112 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 North East.
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.