Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Falls Village

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
David M. Hunt Library

Falls Village’s library runs 298 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size

David M. Hunt Library serves 1,082 people in and around Falls Village. Last year it lent 9,852 books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.

63 Main St., Canaan 06031 · about 27 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
9,852
9.1 per resident
Visits a year
11K
10.6 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
322
about 6 a week · 4,362 attended
Cardholders
41%
449 cards
Open
27 hrs
a week
In brief

What Falls Village’s library is like

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 ↓

Falls Village 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Falls Village’s civic life grade

Falls Village isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Falls Village’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 4 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Falls Village →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5136
Ages 6–1161
Teens9
Adults114
All ages2
Little ones
2.6

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

3,457
kids’ books & media borrowed
4,362
people at programs
322
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 10.6 visits · typical 3.5Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 7.7 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 79%
Digital borrowing 1.4 e-items · typical 1Higher than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 3.2 kids’ items · typical 1.4Higher than 78%
Program attendance 4 attendees · typical 0.7Top 10%
Programs offered 297.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Top 10%
Cardholders 41% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 64%
Spending $164 per resident · typical $54Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

David M. Hunt Library serves 1,082 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

11K
visits
10.6 per resident
9,852
loans, print + digital
9.1 per resident
322
programs & events
4,362 attended
449
library cards
41% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week84people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)2 public computers23K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

9,852 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

9,852loans
Books & media (adults) 50%Kids’ books & media 35%E-books, audio & streaming 15%
How hard the shelves work
0.4×

Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.

From your couch

1,491 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.

The building

Find it

David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main St., Canaan.

27
hours open a week
3,600
square feet
23K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home.

New in Falls Village? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

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 Falls Village cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
1
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$468
a year at retail prices · $39 a month

Who pays for it
$164 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $178K.

Local taxes 28%State 1%Gifts & other 71%

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.

Next door

Libraries next door

Falls Village ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
SalisburyScoville Memorial Library fine-free11.839A+
Falls VillageDavid M. Hunt Library fine-free9.127— under 1,000 residents
CanaanDavid M. Hunt Library fine-free9.127A+

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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

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 Falls Village

Does Falls Village have a public library?

Yes. David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main St., serves 1,082 people in and around Falls Village (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 Falls Village’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 Falls Village’s civic life grade?

Falls Village 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 Falls Village.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.