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Pittsford, New York town hallPhoto: DanielPenfield · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pittsford Community Library

Pittsford’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size

Pittsford Community Library serves 30,617 people in and around Pittsford. Last year it lent 548K books, movies and e-books and logged 315K visits.

24 State Street, Pittsford 14534 · about 61 hours a week
B+Civic lifeAhead of 74% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
548K
17.9 per resident
Visits a year
315K
10.3 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
1,369
about 26 a week · 32K attended
Cardholders
85%
26,039 cards
Open
61 hrs
a week
In brief

What Pittsford’s library is like

Pittsford uses its library more than almost any town its size

Pittsford Community Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓

Pittsford ranks 4th in New York for kids’ borrowing

Out of 241 New York towns with a library of their own, Pittsford comes 4th for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #5 for borrowing and #8 for library use. How it compares ↓

More than half the print loans are for kids

Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓

Three times the programs of a typical library its size

Pittsford Community Library ran 1,369 programs last year, about 26 a week. That’s 45 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 32,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓

Big on e-books and audiobooks

Digital borrowing runs 4.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Pittsford’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pittsford is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Pittsford 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.

B+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Pittsford’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 74%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $89K–$149K (4,659)Ahead of 78%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Pittsford is small (1,323 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

7 community nonprofits are registered in Pittsford

4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.12 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

9.9%

9.9% of Pittsford’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 Pittsford’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 172 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

315K
visits
10.3 per resident
548K
loans, print + digital
17.9 per resident
1,369
programs & events
32K attended
26K
library cards
85% of people served
Every open hour172items borrowed
Every week614people at a program
Every day126Wi-Fi sessions
19 staff (full-time equivalent)20 public computers106K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 10.3 visits · typical 2.6Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 13.5 print items · typical 3.7Top 10%
Digital borrowing 4.4 e-items · typical 1.2Top 10%
Kids’ borrowing 7.5 kids’ items · typical 1.7Top 10%
Program attendance 1 attendees · typical 0.3Top 10%
Programs offered 44.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Top 10%
Cardholders 85% of residents · typical 39%Top 10%
Spending $53 per resident · typical $40Higher than 66%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in NY#8Most-used librariesof 241 towns
#5Most library borrowingof 241 towns
#4Best libraries for kidsof 241 towns
Size group

Pittsford Community Library serves 30,617 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

548K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

548Kloans
Books & media (adults) 33%Kids’ books & media 42%E-books, audio & streaming 24%
How hard the shelves work
3.9×

Each of the 106K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.9 times last year, on average.

From your couch

134,139 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 14 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Pittsford →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5589
Ages 6–11120
Teens110
Adults514
All ages36
Little ones
11.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

231K
kids’ books & media borrowed
32K
people at programs
1,369
programs
The building

Find it

Pittsford Community Library, 24 State Street, Pittsford.

61
hours open a week
30,422
square feet
106K
books & media
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Pittsford? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $5.10 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pittsford cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$348
a year at retail prices · $29 a month

Who pays for it
$53 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.

Local taxes 90%State 2%Gifts & other 8%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 26,039 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Pittsford

Does Pittsford have a public library?

Yes. Pittsford Community Library, 24 State Street, serves 30,617 people in and around Pittsford (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Pittsford Community 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 Pittsford’s library?

It logged 10.3 visits and lent 17.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Pittsford’s civic life grade?

B+ Pittsford is ahead of 74% 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 Pittsford.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.