Ulster’s library runs 8.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Town of Ulster Public Library serves Ulster’s 12,660 residents. Last year it lent 46K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
The short version on Ulster’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Town of Ulster Public Library offered 108 programs last year, 8.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 108 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 8 for ages 0–5. 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 Ulster’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ulster is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #513 of 751 in New York. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Ulster’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$100K) 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Ulster
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (8 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.
7.9%
7.9% of Ulster’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 Ulster’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Town of Ulster Public Library serves 12,660 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
46K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 41K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
12,086 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Ulster last year.
Find it
Town of Ulster Public Library, 860 Ulster Avenue, Kingston.
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 Ulster? 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 $2.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ulster cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $358K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $718K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $358K 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 2,827 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ulster ranks 6th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hook | Red Hook Public Library fine-free | 41.2 | 45 | A+ |
| Rhinebeck | Starr Library fine-free | 11.6 | 48 | A+ |
| Esopus | Town of Esopus Library fine-free | 6.3 | 43 | B+ |
| Saugerties | Saugerties Public Library fine-free | 6.3 | 44 | B+ |
| Kingston | Kingston Library fine-free | 5.5 | 54 | A |
| Ulster | Town of Ulster Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 35 | C |
| Lincoln Park | Town of Ulster Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 35 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hurley | Hurley Library District fine-free | — | 41 | A− |
| Kingston | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hillside | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Ruby | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Town of Ulster Public 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 Ulster
Does Ulster have a public library?
Yes. Town of Ulster Public Library, 860 Ulster Avenue, serves Ulster’s 12,660 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town of Ulster 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 Ulster’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Ulster’s civic life grade?
C Ulster is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #513 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 Ulster.
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.