Stockton’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library serves Stockton’s 2,044 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 4,290 print books and media and logged 2,732 visits.
The short version on Stockton’s library
Every town next door borrows more
Stockton’s library lends 2.1 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Ellery at 30. Libraries next door ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Mayville Library in Chautauqua, next door, is open about 38 hours a week. The buildings ↓
A small-town library
Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library serves 2,044 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 ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 119 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 74%. What your card is worth ↓
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 Stockton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Stockton is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. Stockton’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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Stockton
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Stockton’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 Stockton’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library serves 2,044 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,290 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Stockton last year.
2 places to borrow in Stockton
Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library, 22 North Main Street, Stockton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Stockton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Stockton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stockton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $58K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $76K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $58K 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 851 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Stockton ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellery | Bemus Point Public Library | 30.0 | 38 | B |
| Chautauqua | Mayville Library fine-free | 4.5 | 38 | A− |
| Pomfret | Darwin R. Barker Library Association | 3.9 | 34 | B |
| Stockton | Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library fine-free | 2.1 | 16 | B− |
| Charlotte | Sinclairville Free Library fine-free | — | 27 | A |
| Arkwright | 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.
- 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 Stockton
Does Stockton have a public library?
Yes. Mary E. Seymour Memorial Free Library, 22 North Main Street, serves Stockton’s 2,044 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mary E. Seymour Memorial 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 Stockton’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Stockton’s civic life grade?
B− Stockton is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Stockton.
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.