Potsdam’s library runs 129 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Potsdam Public Library serves 13,811 people in and around Potsdam. Last year it lent 70K print books and media and logged 78K visits.
The short version on Potsdam’s library
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Potsdam Public Library ran 1,788 programs last year, about 34 a week. That’s 129 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
71% of the 1,788 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 461 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; Potsdam Public Library serves 13,811 people in and around Potsdam, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Potsdam’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Potsdam is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #129 of 751 in New York. Potsdam is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Potsdam’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Potsdam
5.1 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Potsdam’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 Potsdam’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Potsdam Public Library serves 13,811 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Potsdam Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
70K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Potsdam Public Library, 2 Park Street, Potsdam.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Potsdam Public Library branch.
New in Potsdam? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Potsdam cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $676K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $676K 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 6,395 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
- System-wide. Potsdam Public Library serves 13,811 people in and around Potsdam, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Potsdam.
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 Potsdam
Does Potsdam have a public library?
Yes. Potsdam Public Library, 2 Park Street, serves 13,811 people in and around Potsdam (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Potsdam 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 Potsdam’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 5.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Potsdam’s civic life grade?
A− Potsdam is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #129 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 Potsdam.
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.