Fort Stanwix National Monument · Photo: M Colangelo Sr · CC BY-SA 3.0Rome’s library runs 24 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
The Jervis Public Library Association, Inc. serves Rome’s 32,127 residents. Last year it lent 171K books, movies and e-books and logged 92K visits.
What stands out about Rome’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Rome’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rome is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #551 of 751 in New York. Rome’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$75K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
126 community nonprofits are registered in Rome
4.0 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 (27 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Rome’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 Rome’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Rome last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
The Jervis Public Library Association, Inc. serves 32,127 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 54 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
171K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 109K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
39,731 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Jervis Public Library, 613 North Washington Street, Rome.
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 Rome? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Jervis Public Library
Jervis Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 4, 1982. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical.
Jervis Public Library is a historic library building located in Rome in Oneida County, New York. It was built in 1858 as the residence of John B. Jervis (1795–1885). The original house is a rectangular, 2+1⁄2-story brick structure with a slate-covered gable roof and cupola. The facade features a 2-story portico supported by four massive Doric order brick columns.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rome cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 19,970 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | Jervis Public Library fine-free | 5.3 | 61 | C |
| Western | Western Town Library fine-free | 3.1 | 20 | C− |
| Whitestown | Dunham Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | D |
| Verona | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Vienna | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Floyd | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Lee | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Westmoreland | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Annsville | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Lake Delta | 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.
- 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 Rome
Does Rome have a public library?
Yes. The Jervis Public Library Association, Inc., 613 North Washington Street, serves Rome’s 32,127 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is The Jervis Public Library Association, Inc. 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 Rome’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Rome’s civic life grade?
C Rome is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on civic life, #551 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 Rome.
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.