Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Albany’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Albany Town serves 987 people in and around Albany. Last year it lent 1,047 print books and media and logged 1,268 visits.
Albany’s library, in brief
Albany Town is used less than most libraries its size
Albany Town records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
Albany Town keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Albany Town serves 987 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 ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people Albany Town serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
26% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 73%. What your card is worth ↓
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 Albany’s civic life grade
Albany 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Albany Town serves 987 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,047 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Albany’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 4,263 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
68 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.
Find it
Albany Town, 530 Main St., Albany.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Albany? 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 $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Albany cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $22K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K 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 91 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Vermont 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 Albany
Does Albany have a public library?
Yes. Albany Town, 530 Main St., serves 987 people in and around Albany (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Albany Town 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 Albany’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Albany’s civic life grade?
Albany 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 Albany.
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.