Photo: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller) · CC BY-SA 3.0Rhinebeck’s library runs 105 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Starr Institute serves 7,596 people in and around Rhinebeck. Last year it lent 88K books, movies and e-books and logged 54K visits.
Rhinebeck’s library, in brief
Rhinebeck ranks 5th in New York for kids’ borrowing
Out of 241 New York towns with a library of their own, Rhinebeck comes 5th for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #24 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Starr Institute ran 796 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 105 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 13,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
42% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 58%. What your card is worth ↓
Rhinebeck uses its library more than almost any town its size
Starr Institute logs 7.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.7 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 ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% 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 Rhinebeck’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rhinebeck is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 751 in New York. Rhinebeck is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Rhinebeck near the top nationally; 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Rhinebeck
9.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.3%
15.3% of Rhinebeck’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 Rhinebeck’s residents live; 2022.
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.
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.
Starr Institute serves 7,596 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
88K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
22,124 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Starr Library, 68 West Market Street, Rhinebeck.
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 Rhinebeck? 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 $1.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rhinebeck cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $793K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $793K 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 6,235 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Rhinebeck
Does Rhinebeck have a public library?
Yes. Starr Institute, 68 West Market Street, serves 7,596 people in and around Rhinebeck (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Starr Institute 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 Rhinebeck’s library?
It logged 7.1 visits and lent 11.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rhinebeck’s civic life grade?
A+ Rhinebeck is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Rhinebeck.
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.