Dr. Cornelius Nase Campbell House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Stanford’s library runs 180 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Stanford Free Library serves Stanford’s 3,682 residents. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
Stanford’s library, in brief
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Stanford Free Library ran 664 programs last year, about 13 a week. That’s 180 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,869 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 32 items per child in Stanford last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New York for kids’ borrowing
Stanford ranks #8 of 241 New York towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 61%. What your card is worth ↓
Stanford uses its library more than almost any town its size
Stanford Free Library logs 6.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.1 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. 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 Stanford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Stanford is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #57 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Stanford
5.6 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 (4 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.
10.5%
10.5% of Stanford’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 Stanford’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Stanford last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Stanford Free Library serves 3,682 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
8,604 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Stanford Free Library, 6035 Route 82, Stanfordville.
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 Stanford? 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 $3.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stanford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $200K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $634K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $200K 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 1,915 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Stanford borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | Stanford Free Library fine-free | 10.5 | 55 | A |
| Washington | Millbrook Library fine-free | 9.4 | 42 | A |
| North East | Northeast-Millerton Library fine-free | 8.7 | 33 | A− |
| Pine Plains | Pine Plains Free Library fine-free | 7.6 | 34 | A |
| Clinton | Clinton Community Library fine-free | 4.9 | 50 | A− |
| Amenia | Amenia Free Library fine-free | 4.2 | 32 | A |
| Milan | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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 Stanford
Does Stanford have a public library?
Yes. Stanford Free Library, 6035 Route 82, serves Stanford’s 3,682 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stanford Free 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 Stanford’s library?
It logged 6.9 visits and lent 10.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Stanford’s civic life grade?
A Stanford is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #57 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 Stanford.
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.