Buffalo’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Northwest Regional Library serves 1,324 people in and around Buffalo. Last year it lent 3,837 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,532 visits.
Buffalo’s library, in brief
Northwest Regional Library is used less than most libraries its size
Northwest Regional Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $35 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Buffalo branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 51% of loans, more per resident than at 62% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 49%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Northwest Regional Library serves 1,324 people in and around Buffalo, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Buffalo’s civic life grade
Buffalo isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
51% of borrowing is digital
3,837 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,966 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Northwest Regional Library serves 1,324 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northwest Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
30 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
Northwest Regional Library, 408 Ramsland St., Buffalo.
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 Northwest Regional Library branch.
New in Buffalo? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Buffalo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $46K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $61K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $46K 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 465 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Northwest Regional Library serves 1,324 people in and around Buffalo, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Buffalo.
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 Buffalo
Does Buffalo have a public library?
Yes. Northwest Regional Library, 408 Ramsland St., serves 1,324 people in and around Buffalo (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northwest Regional 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 Buffalo’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Buffalo’s civic life grade?
Buffalo isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Buffalo.
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.