Salamanca’s library runs 5.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Salamanca Public Library serves Salamanca’s 5,929 residents. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Salamanca’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Salamanca Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Salamanca Public Library offered 33 programs last year, 5.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
28% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 71%. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Salamanca Public Library holds 37,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Salamanca’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Salamanca is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #377 of 751 in New York. Salamanca’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Salamanca
5.3 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 (8 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.
7.9%
7.9% of Salamanca’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 Salamanca’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Salamanca Public Library serves 5,929 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
16K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 37K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
33 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Salamanca last year.
2 places to borrow in Salamanca
Salamanca Public Library, 155 Wildwood Avenue, Salamanca.
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 Salamanca? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Salamanca
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salamanca cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $291K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $267K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $291K 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 2,123 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Valley | Memorial Library of Little Valley fine-free | 3.0 | 41 | C |
| Salamanca | Salamanca Public Library fine-free | 2.7 | 49 | B− |
| Great Valley | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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.
- 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 Salamanca
Does Salamanca have a public library?
Yes. Salamanca Public Library, 155 Wildwood Avenue, serves Salamanca’s 5,929 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Salamanca 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 Salamanca’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 2.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Salamanca’s civic life grade?
B− Salamanca is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #377 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 Salamanca.
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.