Watervliet Arsenal · Public domainWatervliet’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Watervliet Public Library serves Watervliet’s 10,375 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
What Watervliet’s library is like
Watervliet Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Watervliet Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people Watervliet Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
88% of the 139 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 7 were for children. 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 Watervliet’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Watervliet is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #601 of 751 in New York. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Watervliet’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Watervliet Public Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Watervliet
3.5 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. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of Watervliet’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 Watervliet’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Watervliet Public Library serves 10,375 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
9,621 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
139 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Watervliet last year.
Find it
Watervliet Public Library, 1501 Broadway, Watervliet.
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 Watervliet? 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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Watervliet cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $223K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $430K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $223K 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 1,963 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Watervliet ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonie | William K Sanford Town Library | 6.9 | 59 | C+ |
| Troy | Troy Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 60 | C |
| Watervliet | Watervliet Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 37 | C− |
| Latham | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Green Island | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Green Island | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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 Watervliet
Does Watervliet have a public library?
Yes. Watervliet Public Library, 1501 Broadway, serves Watervliet’s 10,375 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Watervliet 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 Watervliet’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Watervliet’s civic life grade?
C− Watervliet is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #601 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 Watervliet.
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.