Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Sherman’s library runs 108 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sherman Library Assn. serves Sherman’s 3,530 residents. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
The short version on Sherman’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
53% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 47%. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Sherman Library Assn. ran 383 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 108 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 6,400 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Sherman invests in its library
Sherman Library Assn. spends $91 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 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.
What’s behind Sherman’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sherman is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #12 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Sherman
6.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
11.0%
11.0% of Sherman’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 Sherman’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 Sherman last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sherman Library Assn. serves 3,530 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
6,484 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sherman Library Assn., 1 Sherman Center, Sherman.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sherman? 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 $1.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sherman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $320K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $418K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $320K 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 1,415 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sherman ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | Kent Library Association fine-free | 6.8 | 45 | A+ |
| Sherman | Sherman Library Assn. fine-free | 6.7 | 34 | A |
| Pawling | Pawling Free Library fine-free | 5.9 | 46 | A |
| New Fairfield | New Fairfield Free Public Library fine-free | 5.1 | 46 | B− |
| New Milford | New Milford Public Library | 4.7 | 45 | C+ |
| Dover | Dover Plains Library fine-free | 3.5 | 54 | B |
| Gaylordsville | 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 Sherman
Does Sherman have a public library?
Yes. Sherman Library Assn., 1 Sherman Center, serves Sherman’s 3,530 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sherman Library Assn. 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 Sherman’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 6.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sherman’s civic life grade?
A Sherman is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #12 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 Sherman.
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.