Photo: Pfoshea · CC BY-SA 4.0Saugerties’ library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Saugerties Public Library serves 19,038 people in and around Saugerties. Last year it lent 120K books, movies and e-books and logged 97K visits.
Saugerties’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Saugerties Public Library is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Saugerties Public Library serves more than Saugerties
The library’s service area covers 19,038 people in and around Saugerties, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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.
What’s behind Saugerties’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Saugerties is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #236 of 751 in New York. Saugerties is graded on two of the three inputs. Both 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Saugerties
4.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Saugerties’ 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 Saugerties’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Saugerties Public Library serves 19,038 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
120K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 62K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
33,568 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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.
Find it
Saugerties Public Library, 91 Washington Avenue, Saugerties.
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 Saugerties? 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 $2.64 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Saugerties cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $736K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $736K 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 10,033 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hook | Red Hook Public Library fine-free | 41.2 | 45 | A+ |
| Saugerties | Saugerties Public Library fine-free | 6.3 | 44 | B+ |
| Saugerties South | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Malden-on-Hudson | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Saugerties
Does Saugerties have a public library?
Yes. Saugerties Public Library, 91 Washington Avenue, serves 19,038 people in and around Saugerties (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saugerties 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 Saugerties’ library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 6.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Saugerties’ civic life grade?
B+ Saugerties is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #236 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 Saugerties.
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.