James Pardee House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Sharon’s library runs 122 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hotchkiss Library of Sharon serves Sharon’s 2,744 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Sharon’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
80% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 20%. What your card is worth ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Hotchkiss Library of Sharon ran 336 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 122 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 3,351 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Sharon invests in its library
Hotchkiss Library of Sharon spends $177 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 336 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 134 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Sharon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sharon is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #17 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Sharon’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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Sharon
12.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of Sharon’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 Sharon’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Sharon last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hotchkiss Library of Sharon serves 2,744 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
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
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
2,968 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, 10 Upper Main St., Sharon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sharon? 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 Sharon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $485K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $247K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $485K 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 829 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sharon ranks 5th 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+ |
| North East | Northeast-Millerton Library fine-free | 8.7 | 33 | A− |
| Cornwall | Cornwall Library Association fine-free | 7.3 | 32 | A+ |
| Kent | Kent Library Association fine-free | 6.8 | 45 | A+ |
| Sharon | Hotchkiss Library of Sharon fine-free | 5.0 | 40 | A |
| Amenia | Amenia Free Library fine-free | 4.2 | 32 | A |
| West Cornwall | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cornwall Bridge | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- 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 Sharon
Does Sharon have a public library?
Yes. Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, 10 Upper Main St., serves Sharon’s 2,744 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hotchkiss Library of Sharon 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 Sharon’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sharon’s civic life grade?
A Sharon is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Sharon.
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.