Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Utica’s library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Utica Public Library serves Utica’s 65,283 residents. Last year it lent 75K books, movies and e-books and logged 80K visits.
Utica’s library, in brief
Utica Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Utica Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Utica’s library lends 1.2 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by New Hartford at 5.8. Libraries next door ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Utica Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 31,325 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 726 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.3 a week 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 Utica’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Utica is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #698 of 751 in New York. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Utica’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Utica Public Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$66K) 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 →
233 community nonprofits are registered in Utica
3.6 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 (44 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.7%
3.7% of Utica’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 Utica’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Utica Public Library, 303 Genesee Street, Utica.
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 Utica? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Utica Public Library
Utica Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 29, 1982. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical.
Utica Public Library is a historic library building located in Utica in Oneida County, New York. It is a rectangular five story Neoclassical style structure, constructed of New Haven brick on a limestone foundation. It features a central pedimented pavilion with Corinthian order columns.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Utica Public Library serves 65,283 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 80K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
19,195 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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 Utica last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Utica cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 20,988 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Utica ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hartford | New Hartford Public Library | 5.8 | 44 | C |
| New York Mills | New York Mills Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 38 | C− |
| Frankfort | Frankfort Free Library | 3.7 | 28 | C− |
| Utica | Utica Public Library fine-free | 1.2 | 55 | D |
| Whitestown | Dunham Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | D |
| Marcy | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Deerfield | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| New Hartford | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Yorkville | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Schuyler | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 Utica
Does Utica have a public library?
Yes. Utica Public Library, 303 Genesee Street, serves Utica’s 65,283 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Utica 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 Utica’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Utica’s civic life grade?
D Utica is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #698 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 Utica.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.