Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Rutland’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Rutland Free Public Library serves Rutland’s 9,298 residents. Last year it lent 41K print books and media and logged 50K visits.
The short version on Rutland’s library
More library cards than residents
9,921 cards for 9,298 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Rutland’s library lends 4.5 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Holden at 11. Libraries next door ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 263 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 59% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 71% 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.
What’s behind Rutland’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rutland is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #140 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; Rutland’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Rutland
3.3 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.
7.7%
7.7% of Rutland’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Massachusetts 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 Rutland’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rutland Free Public Library serves 9,298 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
41K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Rutland last year.
Find it
Rutland Free Public Library, 280 Main Street, Rutland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rutland? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rutland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $364K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $649K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $364K 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 9,921 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rutland ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holden | Gale Free Library | 10.5 | 52 | B− |
| Princeton | Princeton Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 35 | A |
| Barre | Woods Memorial Library fine-free | 7.3 | 31 | A |
| Oakham | Fobes Memorial Library fine-free | 7.2 | 28 | A |
| Paxton | Richards Memorial Library fine-free | 6.1 | 34 | C |
| Rutland | Rutland Free Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 36 | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Massachusetts libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Rutland
Does Rutland have a public library?
Yes. Rutland Free Public Library, 280 Main Street, serves Rutland’s 9,298 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rutland Free 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 Rutland’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 4.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rutland’s civic life grade?
B Rutland is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #140 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 Rutland.
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.