Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Centennial’s library is a branch of Albany County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 62% of systems its size
Centennial’s library is the Centennial Valley Branch Library, a branch of Albany County Public Library, which serves 38,257 people and lent 290K items last year.
Centennial’s library, in brief
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Centennial branch keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 338 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Centennial’s library is a branch of Albany County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (38,257 people), not just the Centennial branch.
What’s behind Centennial’s civic life grade
Centennial 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Albany County Public Library serves 38,257 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 73 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Albany County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
290K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
98,780 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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
Centennial Valley Branch Library, 27 2nd St., Centennial.
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 Albany County Public Library branch.
New in Centennial? 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 $3.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Centennial cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 16,957 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Centennial Valley Branch Library is one branch of Albany County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 38,257 people it serves.
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 Centennial
Does Centennial have a public library?
Yes: Centennial Valley Branch Library, 27 2nd St., is a branch of Albany County Public Library, which serves 38,257 people. The branch is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Albany County 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 Centennial’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 7.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Centennial’s civic life grade?
Centennial 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 Centennial.
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.