Photo: Doncram · CC BY-SA 3.0Canaan’s library runs 298 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
David M. Hunt Library serves Canaan’s 1,082 residents. Last year it lent 9,852 books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Canaan’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
71% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 28%. What your card is worth ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
David M. Hunt Library ran 322 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 298 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 4,362 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
David M. Hunt Library serves 1,082 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 27 hours a week. 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 ↓
People come to David M. Hunt Library a lot
David M. Hunt Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.7 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Canaan invests in its library
David M. Hunt Library spends $164 per resident a year, about three times the typical $54 for a library its size. 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 Canaan’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Canaan is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs put Canaan near the top nationally; Canaan’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Canaan
12.8 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.9%
16.9% of Canaan’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.5% in the typical Connecticut 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 Canaan’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Canaan last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
David M. Hunt Library serves 1,082 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,852 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
1,491 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Find it
David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main St., Canaan.
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 Canaan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $178K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $193K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $178K 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 449 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Canaan ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | Scoville Memorial Library fine-free | 11.8 | 39 | A+ |
| Norfolk | Norfolk Library fine-free | 11.7 | 46 | A+ |
| Canaan | David M. Hunt Library fine-free | 9.1 | 27 | A+ |
| Falls Village | David M. Hunt Library fine-free | 9.1 | 27 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cornwall | Cornwall Library Association fine-free | 7.3 | 32 | A+ |
| North Canaan | Douglas Library fine-free | 2.9 | 30 | B |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. David M. Hunt Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Canaan
Does Canaan have a public library?
Yes. David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main St., serves Canaan’s 1,082 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is David M. Hunt Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Canaan’s library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 9.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Canaan’s civic life grade?
A+ Canaan is among the top 1% 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 Canaan.
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.