Portville’s library runs 70 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Portville Free Library serves 3,504 people in and around Portville. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 6,943 visits.
The short version on Portville’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
45% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 48%. What your card is worth ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Portville Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991. Today’s library there has 7,863 square feet. The building ↓
Portville Free Library serves more than Portville
The library’s service area covers 3,504 people in and around Portville, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 70% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Portville Free Library holds 30,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Portville’s civic life grade
Portville 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 →
A National Register landmark since 1991
Portville Free Library, 2 North Main Street, Portville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Portville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Portville Free Library
Portville Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 7, 1991. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Greek Revival and Classical Revival.
Portville Free Library, formerly the Smith Parish House, is a historic library building located at Portville in Cattaraugus County, New York. The original house was built for early Portville settler Smith Parish in 1847 as a two-story, three bay dwelling in the Greek Revival style. It was subsequently expanded in the 1860s with a one-story, one bay wing.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Portville Free Library serves 3,504 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Portville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $136K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $234K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $136K 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 1,101 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portville | Portville Free Library | 4.1 | 32 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Weston Mills | 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 Portville
Does Portville have a public library?
Yes. Portville Free Library, 2 North Main Street, serves 3,504 people in and around Portville (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Portville Free 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 Portville’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 4.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Portville’s civic life grade?
Portville 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 Portville.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.