Photo: Adam Moss from East Amherst, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Ulster Township’s library lends 2.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mather Memorial Library serves 2,608 people in and around Ulster Township. Last year it lent 7,787 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,888 visits.
Ulster Township’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 53 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 43 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Mather Memorial Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
39% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 30%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 53% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Mather Memorial Library serves 2,608 people in and around Ulster Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Ulster Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ulster Township is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Ulster Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Ulster Township
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of Ulster Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Pennsylvania 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 Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mather Memorial Library serves 2,608 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mather Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,787 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,446 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
53 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Mather Memorial Library, 23866 Route 220, Ulster.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mather Memorial Library branch.
New in Ulster Township? 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 $2.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ulster Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $58K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $116K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $58K 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 522 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Township | Mather Memorial Library fine-free | — | 34 | B+ |
| Sheshequin Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Smithfield Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Burlington Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Athens Township | 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.
- System-wide. Mather Memorial Library serves 2,608 people in and around Ulster Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ulster Township.
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 Township
Does Ulster Township have a public library?
Yes. Mather Memorial Library, 23866 Route 220, serves 2,608 people in and around Ulster Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mather Memorial 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 Township’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ulster Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Ulster Township is ahead of 74% 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 Ulster Township.
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.