Photo: Joegrimes at English Wikipedia · Public domainOnondaga’s library runs 25 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Onondaga Free Library serves Onondaga’s 28,185 residents. Last year it lent 370K books, movies and e-books and logged 70K visits.
The short version on Onondaga’s library
Most of Onondaga’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 60% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 40%. What people borrow ↓
Top 10% in New York for borrowing
Onondaga ranks #14 of 241 New York towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 5.2 items per resident, more than at 64% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Onondaga out-borrows every town next door
At 13 loans per resident, Onondaga leads the four towns here. The closest is Marcellus, at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 703 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 187 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 Onondaga’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Onondaga is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #469 of 751 in New York. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($78K–$131K) 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 →
77 community nonprofits are registered in Onondaga
3.4 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Onondaga’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 Onondaga’s residents live; 2022.
60% of borrowing is digital
370K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.2 times last year, on average.
222,524 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Onondaga Free Library serves 28,185 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 119 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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 Onondaga last year.
Find it
Onondaga Free Library, 4840 West Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse.
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 Onondaga? 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 $6.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Onondaga cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $884K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $884K 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 13,095 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Onondaga borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onondaga | Onondaga Free Library fine-free | 13.1 | 60 | C+ |
| Marcellus | Marcellus Free Library fine-free | 11.5 | 50 | A |
| LaFayette | Lafayette Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 39 | A− |
| Camillus | Maxwell Memorial Library fine-free | 4.6 | 50 | C |
| Syracuse | Onondaga County Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | C |
| Nedrow | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Otisco | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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.
- 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 Onondaga
Does Onondaga have a public library?
Yes. Onondaga Free Library, 4840 West Seneca Turnpike, serves Onondaga’s 28,185 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Onondaga Free 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 Onondaga’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 13.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Onondaga’s civic life grade?
C+ Onondaga is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #469 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 Onondaga.
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.