Photo: Brandon Peterman (Zyrshnikashnu at en.wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0Tonawanda’s library lends 5.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Town of Tonawanda Public Library serves Tonawanda’s 72,636 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 371K print books and media and logged 146K visits.
Tonawanda’s library, in brief
The shelves work hard
Each of the 79,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.7 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Town of Tonawanda Public Library offered 455 programs last year, 6.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
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 Tonawanda’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tonawanda is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #590 of 751 in New York. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Town of Tonawanda Public Library spends $18 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$97K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
194 community nonprofits are registered in Tonawanda
2.7 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 (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.4%
7.4% of Tonawanda’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 Tonawanda’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Town of Tonawanda Public Library serves 72,636 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 76 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
371K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 79K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.7 times last year, on average.
About 3 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 Tonawanda last year.
2 places to borrow in Tonawanda
Town of Tonawanda Public Library, 160 Delaware Road, Kenmore.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Tonawanda? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Tonawanda
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tonawanda cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 28,591 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Tonawanda ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | Amherst Public Library fine-free | 7.6 | 63 | C+ |
| Grand Island | Grand Island Memorial Library fine-free | 6.0 | 45 | C+ |
| Tonawanda | Town of Tonawanda Public Library fine-free | 5.1 | 56 | C− |
| Tonawanda Town | Kenilworth Branch Library fine-free | 5.1 | 38 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Tonawanda | North Tonawanda Public Library | — | 54 | C+ |
| Buffalo | Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System fine-free | — | 61 | C+ |
| Grandyle Village | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Tonawanda
Does Tonawanda have a public library?
Yes. Town of Tonawanda Public Library, 160 Delaware Road, serves Tonawanda’s 72,636 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town of Tonawanda Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Tonawanda’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 5.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Tonawanda’s civic life grade?
C− Tonawanda is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #590 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 Tonawanda.
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.