Ulster House Hotel · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Shandaken’s library runs 106 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Phoenicia Library serves Shandaken’s 2,866 residents. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.
What Shandaken’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Phoenicia Library ran 304 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 106 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
79% of the 304 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 59 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 36% of all loans. 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 Shandaken’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Shandaken is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #97 of 751 in New York. Shandaken is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Shandaken’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Shandaken
10.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Shandaken last year.
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.
Phoenicia Library serves 2,866 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
7,705 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Shandaken
Phoenicia Library, 48 Main Street, Phoenicia.
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 Shandaken? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Shandaken
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shandaken cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $242K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $373K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $242K 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 1,881 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shandaken ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodstock | Woodstock Public Library Distrcit fine-free | 13.1 | 45 | A+ |
| Shandaken | Phoenicia Library fine-free | 7.4 | 30 | A |
| Olive | Olive Free Library Association fine-free | 3.8 | 39 | A |
| Middletown | Fairview Public Library | 3.6 | 31 | A |
| Hunter | Mountain Top Library fine-free | — | 38 | — too few inputs |
| Hardenburgh | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lexington | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Denning | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Phoenicia Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Shandaken
Does Shandaken have a public library?
Yes. Phoenicia Library, 48 Main Street, serves Shandaken’s 2,866 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Phoenicia 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 Shandaken’s library?
It logged 3.6 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 Shandaken’s civic life grade?
A Shandaken is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #97 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 Shandaken.
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.