Oriskany’s library runs 150 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Oriskany Public Library serves Oriskany’s 1,315 residents. Last year it lent 4,654 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,588 visits.
The short version on Oriskany’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 73% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 25%. Program attendance beats 93% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
A small-town library
Oriskany Public Library serves 1,315 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 ↓
Programs draw a crowd
4,033 people came to the library’s 197 programs last year: 3.1 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
26% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 71%. What your card is worth ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 63% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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 Oriskany’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oriskany is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. Oriskany’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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Oriskany
12.9 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.6%
5.6% of Oriskany’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 Oriskany’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Oriskany last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Oriskany Public Library serves 1,315 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
43% of borrowing is digital
4,654 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
1,984 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Oriskany Public Library, 621 Utica Street, Oriskany.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oriskany? 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 $2.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oriskany cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $48K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $110K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $48K 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 839 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 Oriskany
Does Oriskany have a public library?
Yes. Oriskany Public Library, 621 Utica Street, serves Oriskany’s 1,315 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oriskany 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 Oriskany’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Oriskany’s civic life grade?
B+ Oriskany is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Oriskany.
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.