Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Sterling’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Village of Fair Haven Public Library serves 760 people in and around Sterling. Last year it lent 7,008 books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Sterling’s library
People come to Village of Fair Haven Public Library a lot
Village of Fair Haven Public Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 8.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Village of Fair Haven Public Library serves 760 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Village of Fair Haven Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Hannibal Free Library in Hannibal, next door, is open about 46 hours a week. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
63% of the 76 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 28 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 58% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Sterling’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sterling is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #340 of 751 in New York. Sterling is graded on two of the three inputs. Sterling’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Sterling
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Sterling’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 Sterling’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Village of Fair Haven Public Library serves 760 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
7,008 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
549 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
76 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.
Find it
Village of Fair Haven Public Library, 14426 South Richmond Avenue, Fair Haven.
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 Sterling? 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 $2.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sterling cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $52K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $113K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $52K 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 567 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sterling ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolcott | Red Creek Free Library fine-free | 17.4 | 32 | B− |
| Red Creek | Red Creek Free Library fine-free | 17.4 | 32 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sterling | Village of Fair Haven Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 21 | B− |
| Fair Haven | Village of Fair Haven Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 21 | — graded with its twin city |
| Hannibal | Hannibal Free Library fine-free | 2.4 | 46 | D |
| Oswego | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Victory | None of its own | — | — | C |
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 Sterling
Does Sterling have a public library?
Yes. Village of Fair Haven Public Library, 14426 South Richmond Avenue, serves 760 people in and around Sterling (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Village of Fair Haven 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 Sterling’s library?
It logged 13.9 visits and lent 9.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sterling’s civic life grade?
B− Sterling is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #340 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 Sterling.
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.