Otsdawa Baptist Church · Photo: Agreen54 · CC BY-SA 4.0Otego’s library runs 67 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Harris Memorial Library serves Otego’s 2,756 residents. Last year it lent 3,003 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,647 visits.
What Otego’s library is like
Harris Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Harris Memorial Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Otego’s library lends 1.1 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Butternuts at 9.9. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 184 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 79 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 Otego’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Otego is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #354 of 751 in New York. Otego’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Otego
5.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Otego’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 Otego’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Harris Memorial Library serves 2,756 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,003 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
190 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Otego last year.
Find it
Harris Memorial Library, 334 Main Street, Otego.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Otego? 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 Otego cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $76K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $64K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $76K 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 168 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Otego ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butternuts | Gilbertsville Free Library fine-free | 9.9 | 19 | A+ |
| Unadilla | Unadilla Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 23 | C+ |
| Franklin | Franklin Free Library fine-free | 2.3 | 23 | B− |
| Otego | Harris Memorial Library fine-free | 1.1 | 36 | B− |
| Sidney | Sidney Memorial Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | A |
| Morris | Morris Library fine-free | — | 25 | A |
| Oneonta | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Laurens | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Otego
Does Otego have a public library?
Yes. Harris Memorial Library, 334 Main Street, serves Otego’s 2,756 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harris Memorial 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 Otego’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Otego’s civic life grade?
B− Otego is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life, #354 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 Otego.
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.