Photo: Theedster123 at English Wikipedia · Public domainWilmington’s library logs 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L serves Wilmington’s 1,139 residents. Last year it lent 1,960 print books and media and logged 1,957 visits.
The short version on Wilmington’s library
Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L is used less than most libraries its size
Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L records 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
39% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 58%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L serves 1,139 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Lake Placid Public Library in North Elba, next door, is open about 49 hours a week. The building ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Wilmington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wilmington is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Wilmington’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($62K–$103K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Wilmington
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.5%
3.5% of Wilmington’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 Wilmington’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L serves 1,139 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,960 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,651 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
32 programs a year
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 Wilmington last year.
Find it
Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L, 5751 Route 86, Wilmington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wilmington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wilmington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $48K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $34K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $48K 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 818 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keene | Keene Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 35 | — too few inputs |
| Wilmington | Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L fine-free | 1.7 | 20 | D |
| Jay | Ausable Forks Free Library | — | 25 | C− |
| North Elba | Lake Placid Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A− |
| Black Brook | None of its own | — | — | D |
| St. Armand | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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 Wilmington
Does Wilmington have a public library?
Yes. Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L, 5751 Route 86, serves Wilmington’s 1,139 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wilmington E.M. Cooper Memorial P L 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 Wilmington’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wilmington’s civic life grade?
D Wilmington is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Wilmington.
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.