Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Hinsdale’s library logs 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Hinsdale Public Library serves Hinsdale’s 3,949 residents. Last year it lent 1,662 books, movies and e-books and logged 895 visits.
Hinsdale’s library, in brief
Hinsdale Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Hinsdale Public Library records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Hinsdale’s library lends 0.4 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Brattleboro at 13. Libraries next door ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Hinsdale Public Library keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Brooks Memorial in Brattleboro, next door, is open about 56 hours a week. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Hinsdale Public Library offered 26 programs last year, 6.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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 Hinsdale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hinsdale is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #120 of 126 in New Hampshire. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Hinsdale Public Library spends $10 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Hinsdale
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Hinsdale’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical New Hampshire 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 Hinsdale’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hinsdale Public Library serves 3,949 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,662 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
156 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
26 programs a year
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 Hinsdale last year.
Find it
Hinsdale Public Library, 122 Brattleboro Road, Hinsdale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hinsdale? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hinsdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $41K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $28K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $41K 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 366 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hinsdale ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brattleboro | Brooks Memorial | 12.9 | 56 | A+ |
| Chesterfield | Chesterfield Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 35 | B+ |
| Vernon | Vernon Free Library fine-free | 3.6 | 26 | C+ |
| Winchester | Thayer Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 17 | B |
| Hinsdale | Hinsdale Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 17 | C− |
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 Hinsdale
Does Hinsdale have a public library?
Yes. Hinsdale Public Library, 122 Brattleboro Road, serves Hinsdale’s 3,949 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hinsdale 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 Hinsdale’s library?
It logged 0.2 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hinsdale’s civic life grade?
C− Hinsdale is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #120 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Hinsdale.
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.