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Rush Public Library

Rush’s library runs 63 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Rush Public Library serves Rush’s 3,490 residents. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.

5977 East Henrietta Road, Rush 14543 · about 43 hours a week
B−Civic lifeAhead of 55% of U.S. towns · #332 of 751 in New York. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
26K
7.5 per resident
Visits a year
14K
4.1 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
220
about 4 a week · 2,273 attended
Cardholders
45%
1,576 cards
Open
43 hrs
a week

What stands out about Rush’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Rush’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rush is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #332 of 751 in New York. Rush’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Rush’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 55%
FewerMore
New York towns we grade (751)Ahead of 56%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $92K–$153K (4,259)Ahead of 58%

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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. Rush is small (3,468 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

18 community nonprofits are registered in Rush

5.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture30.92 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.40 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans30.92 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education30.75 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.38 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals30.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.66 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

6.0%

6.0% of Rush’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 Rush’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4.1 visits · typical 3Higher than 66%
Borrowing per resident 5.3 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 67%
Digital borrowing 2.1 e-items · typical 1Higher than 79%
Kids’ borrowing 1.2 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 60%
Program attendance 0.7 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 60%
Programs offered 63 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 76%
Cardholders 45% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 55%
Spending $69 per resident · typical $43Higher than 77%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in NY#93Most-used librariesof 241 towns
#75Most library borrowingof 241 towns
#152Best libraries for kidsof 241 towns
Size group

Rush Public Library serves 3,490 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

14K
visits
4.1 per resident
26K
loans, print + digital
7.5 per resident
220
programs & events
2,273 attended
1,576
library cards
45% of people served
Every open hour12items borrowed
Every week44people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers21K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

26Kloans
Books & media (adults) 54%Kids’ books & media 17%E-books, audio & streaming 29%
How hard the shelves work
0.9×

Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.

From your couch

7,503 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

220 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Rush →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–530
Ages 6–111
Teens19
Adults157
All ages13
Little ones
0.6

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
7

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Rush last year.

2,273
people at programs
220
programs
The building

Find it

Rush Public Library, 5977 East Henrietta Road, Rush.

43
hours open a week
5,300
square feet
21K
books & media
With a card

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 Rush? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.79 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rush cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$69 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $241K.

Local taxes 94%State 1%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $431K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $241K 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 1,576 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Rush ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
MendonTown of Mendon Public Library fine-free11.256A−
HenriettaHenrietta Public Library fine-free9.663C+
AvonAvon Free Library fine-free8.848B+
WheatlandScottsville Free Library8.438A−
RushRush Public Library fine-free7.543B−
CaledoniaCaledonia Library Association3.928C−

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Rush

Does Rush have a public library?

Yes. Rush Public Library, 5977 East Henrietta Road, serves Rush’s 3,490 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Rush 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 Rush’s library?

It logged 4.1 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Rush’s civic life grade?

B− Rush is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on civic life, #332 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 Rush.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.