Binnewater Historic District · Photo: West Shore Railroad · Public domainRosendale’s library runs 66 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Rosendale Library serves Rosendale’s 5,782 residents. Last year it lent 43K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
Rosendale’s library, in brief
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 38% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 383 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 171 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.
What’s behind Rosendale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rosendale is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #59 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Rosendale
6.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.7%
12.7% of Rosendale’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 Rosendale’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
16,142 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Rosendale Library serves 5,782 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Rosendale last year.
Find it
Rosendale Library, 264 Main Street, Rosendale.
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 Rosendale? 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 $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rosendale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $351K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $715K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $351K 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 3,108 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rosendale ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marbletown | Stone Ridge Public Library fine-free | 12.7 | 43 | A+ |
| Rosendale | Rosendale Library fine-free | 7.4 | 43 | A |
| New Paltz | Elting Memorial Library fine-free | 7.2 | 54 | A |
| Esopus | Town of Esopus Library fine-free | 6.3 | 43 | B+ |
| Ulster | Town of Ulster Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 35 | C |
| Hurley | Hurley Library District fine-free | — | 41 | A− |
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 Rosendale
Does Rosendale have a public library?
Yes. Rosendale Library, 264 Main Street, serves Rosendale’s 5,782 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rosendale 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 Rosendale’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rosendale’s civic life grade?
A Rosendale is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 Rosendale.
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.