Russell’s library lends 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Russell Public Library serves Russell’s 1,872 residents. Last year it lent 737 print books and media and logged 3,366 visits.
The short version on Russell’s library
Every town next door borrows more
Russell’s library lends 0.4 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Canton at 4.5. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Russell Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Russell Public Library serves 1,872 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 35 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 61 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 26 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people Russell Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Russell’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Russell is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Russell’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Russell Public Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$81K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Russell
3.1 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.0%
6.0% of Russell’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 Russell’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Russell Public Library serves 1,872 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Russell Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
737 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
61 programs a year
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 Russell last year.
Find it
Russell Public Library, 24 Pestle Street, Russell.
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 Russell? 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 $1.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Russell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $41K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 227 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Russell ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | Canton Free Library fine-free | 4.5 | 50 | B− |
| Edwards | Hepburn Library of Edwards fine-free | 1.2 | 21 | — graded with its twin city |
| Hermon | Hepburn Library of Hermon fine-free | 0.6 | 30 | C |
| Russell | Russell Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 35 | C− |
| Clare | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Pierrepont | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Fine | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Russell Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Russell
Does Russell have a public library?
Yes. Russell Public Library, 24 Pestle Street, serves Russell’s 1,872 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Russell 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 Russell’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 0.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Russell’s civic life grade?
C− Russell is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Russell.
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.