Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Owego’s library runs 104 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Apalachin Library Association serves 2,632 people in and around Owego. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
Owego’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Apalachin Library Association ran 275 programs last year, about 5 a week. That’s 104 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,153 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Owego uses its library more than almost any town its size
Apalachin Library Association logs 6.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.6 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 275 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 118 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. 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.
What’s behind Owego’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Owego is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #150 of 751 in New York. Owego is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
80 community nonprofits are registered in Owego
4.3 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 (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Owego’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 Owego’s residents live; 2022.
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.
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.
Apalachin Library Association serves 2,632 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
6,892 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Owego
Apalachin Library Association, 719 Main St., Apalachin.
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 Owego? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Owego
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Owego cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $185K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $483K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $185K 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 1,626 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Owego ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candor | Candor Free Library fine-free | 17.7 | 27 | A− |
| Newark Valley | Tappan-Spaulding Memorial Library fine-free | 12.3 | 25 | B+ |
| Owego | Apalachin Library Association fine-free | 11.2 | 35 | A− |
| Union | George F. Johnson Memorial Library fine-free | 9.3 | 58 | C+ |
| Nichols | George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library fine-free | 2.7 | 25 | C+ |
| Vestal | Vestal Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | B+ |
| Tioga | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Maine | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Warren Township | 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 Owego
Does Owego have a public library?
Yes. Apalachin Library Association, 719 Main St., serves 2,632 people in and around Owego (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Apalachin Library Association 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 Owego’s library?
It logged 6.9 visits and lent 11.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Owego’s civic life grade?
A− Owego is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #150 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 Owego.
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.