Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Dutton’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Dutton Public Library serves Dutton’s 3,527 residents. Last year it logged 2,415 visits.
What Dutton’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people Dutton Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Dutton Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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.
What’s behind Dutton’s civic life grade
Dutton 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 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Dutton Public Library serves 3,527 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Dutton Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 407 items borrowed against 2,415 visits, so we leave the count out.
67 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
Dutton Public Library, 23 Main Street, Dutton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dutton? 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 Dutton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $47K.
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 289 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 Dutton
Does Dutton have a public library?
Yes. Dutton Public Library, 23 Main Street, serves Dutton’s 3,527 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dutton 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 Dutton’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dutton’s civic life grade?
Dutton 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 Dutton.
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.