Photo: AlleganyCounty · CC BY-SA 4.0Wellsville’s library runs 109 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
David A Howe Public Library serves Wellsville’s 4,587 residents. Last year it lent 59K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
Wellsville’s library, in brief
Wellsville uses its library more than almost any town its size
David A Howe Public Library logs 8.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
David A Howe Public Library ran 498 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 109 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 11,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Wellsville has a card
4,480 cards for 4,587 people, or 98%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in New York for borrowing
Wellsville ranks #16 of 241 New York towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 9.8 items per resident, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Wellsville last year. 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 Wellsville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wellsville is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #136 of 751 in New York. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Wellsville
5.4 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of Wellsville’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 Wellsville’s residents live; 2022.
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 Wellsville last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
David A Howe Public Library serves 4,587 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
59K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 114K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
14,496 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
David A Howe Public Library, 155 North Main Street, Wellsville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wellsville? 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 $1.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wellsville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $677K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $677K 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 4,480 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. David A Howe 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 Wellsville
Does Wellsville have a public library?
Yes. David A Howe Public Library, 155 North Main Street, serves Wellsville’s 4,587 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is David A Howe 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 Wellsville’s library?
It logged 8.7 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wellsville’s civic life grade?
A− Wellsville is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #136 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 Wellsville.
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.