Sherman’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Sherman Public Library serves Sherman’s 1,189 residents. Last year it lent 1,310 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,015 visits.
The short version on Sherman’s library
Sherman Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Sherman Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 10 hours a week
Sherman Public Library keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Sherman Public Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Sherman Public Library serves 1,189 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Sherman Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Sherman’s civic life grade
Sherman 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sherman Public Library serves 1,189 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,310 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Sherman last year.
Find it
Sherman Public Library, 9 Church Street, Sherman.
No late fees. 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 $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sherman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $13K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13K 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 150 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island Falls | Katahdin Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sherman | Sherman Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Crystal | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Stacyville | 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 Public Library, 9 Church Street, serves Sherman’s 1,189 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sherman Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sherman’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sherman’s civic life grade?
Sherman 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 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.