Orangeburg’s library runs 136 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Orangeburg Library serves Orangeburg’s 4,565 residents. Last year it lent 29K print books and media and logged 30K visits.
What Orangeburg’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Orangeburg Library ran 622 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 136 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 9,917 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Orangeburg Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Orangeburg invests in its library
Orangeburg Library spends $148 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Orangeburg Library logs about 63 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 5 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
66% of the 622 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 177 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 Orangeburg’s civic life grade
Orangeburg 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 →
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Orangeburg last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Orangeburg Library serves 4,565 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
29K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 49K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Orangeburg Library, 20 South Greenbush Road, Orangeburg.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Orangeburg? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orangeburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $677K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $605K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $677K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,745 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Orangeburg ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tappan | Tappan Library fine-free | 6.7 | 55 | — graded as part of its town |
| Piermont | Dennis P. Mchugh Piermont Public Library | 6.4 | 50 | B+ |
| Orangeburg | Orangeburg Library | 6.3 | 54 | — graded as part of its town |
| Blauvelt | Blauvelt Free Library fine-free | 4.5 | 54 | — graded as part of its town |
| Sparkill | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Orangeburg
Does Orangeburg have a public library?
Yes. Orangeburg Library, 20 South Greenbush Road, serves Orangeburg’s 4,565 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Orangeburg Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Orangeburg’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 6.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Orangeburg’s civic life grade?
Orangeburg 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 Orangeburg.
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.