Liberty’s library runs 100 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Liberty Library serves Liberty’s 1,985 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,312 visits.
The short version on Liberty’s library
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 29%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Liberty Library serves 1,985 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 31 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 ↓
Liberty out-borrows every town next door
At 5.7 loans per resident, Liberty leads the four towns here. The closest is Washington, at 4.9. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 198 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 58 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Liberty Library spends $19 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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.
What’s behind Liberty’s civic life grade
Liberty isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Liberty Library serves 1,985 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
2,632 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Liberty last year.
Find it
Ivan O. Davis-Liberty Library, 59 Main Street, Liberty.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Liberty? 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 $4.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Liberty cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $38K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $187K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $38K 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 500 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Liberty borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | Ivan O. Davis-Liberty Library fine-free | 5.7 | 31 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Washington | Gibbs Library fine-free | 4.9 | 17 | B |
| Appleton | Mildred Stevens Williams Memorial Library | 1.8 | 13 | C+ |
| Palermo | Palermo Community Library fine-free | 1.2 | 14 | B |
| Montville | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Liberty
Does Liberty have a public library?
Yes. Liberty Library, 59 Main Street, serves Liberty’s 1,985 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Liberty 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 Liberty’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 5.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Liberty’s civic life grade?
Liberty 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 Liberty.
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.