Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainSwanzey’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Mt. Caesar Union Library serves Swanzey’s 7,331 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,720 visits.
The short version on Swanzey’s library
Mt. Caesar Union Library is used less than most libraries its size
Mt. Caesar Union Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $26 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Swanzey’s library lends 1.6 items per resident. Each of the six neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Keene at 9. Libraries next door ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Mt. Caesar Union Library holds 29,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Swanzey’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Swanzey is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #102 of 126 in New Hampshire. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$102K) 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Swanzey
2.7 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Swanzey’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 Swanzey’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mt. Caesar Union Library serves 7,331 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Swanzey’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
3,804 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
2 places to borrow in Swanzey
Mt. Caesar Union Library, 628 Old Homestead Highway, Swanzey.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Swanzey? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Swanzey
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Swanzey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $188K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $217K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $188K 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 2,786 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Swanzey ranks 7th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keene | Keene Public Library | 9.0 | 50 | A |
| Troy | Gay-Kimball Library fine-free | 6.4 | 23 | B− |
| Chesterfield | Chesterfield Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 35 | B+ |
| Marlborough | Frost Free Library fine-free | 4.1 | 27 | A− |
| Richmond | Richmond Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 15 | C |
| Winchester | Thayer Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 17 | B |
| Swanzey | Mt. Caesar Union Library fine-free | 1.6 | 30 | 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 Swanzey
Does Swanzey have a public library?
Yes. Mt. Caesar Union Library, 628 Old Homestead Highway, serves Swanzey’s 7,331 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mt. Caesar Union 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 Swanzey’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Swanzey’s civic life grade?
C Swanzey is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #102 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 Swanzey.
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.