Middlebury’s library lends 9.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Middlebury Community Public Library serves 24,185 people in and around Middlebury. Last year it lent 289K books, movies and e-books and logged 79K visits.
Middlebury’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Middlebury Community Public Library lends 9.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Middlebury Community Public Library serves 24,185 people in and around Middlebury, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Middlebury’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Middlebury is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #462 of 571 in Indiana. Middlebury is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Middlebury’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$94K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Middlebury
3.5 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Middlebury’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.1% in the typical Indiana 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 Middlebury’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Middlebury Community Public Library serves 24,185 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 116 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Middlebury Community Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
289K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
56,441 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Middlebury Community Public Library, 101 East Winslow Street, Middlebury.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Middlebury Community Public Library branch.
New in Middlebury? 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 $3.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Middlebury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 6,619 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Middlebury Community Public Library serves 24,185 people in and around Middlebury, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Middlebury.
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 Middlebury
Does Middlebury have a public library?
Yes. Middlebury Community Public Library, 101 East Winslow Street, serves 24,185 people in and around Middlebury (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Middlebury Community 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 Middlebury’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 12.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Middlebury’s civic life grade?
C Middlebury is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #462 of 571 in Indiana. 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 Middlebury.
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.