Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0West Swanzey’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Stratton Free Library serves 7,331 people in and around West Swanzey. Last year it lent 6,755 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,407 visits.
The short version on West Swanzey’s library
Stratton Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
Stratton Free Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Stratton Free Library offered 8 programs last year, 1.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Stratton Free Library keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Stratton Free Library spends $9 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
Stratton Free Library serves more than West Swanzey
The library’s service area covers 7,331 people in and around West Swanzey, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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.
What’s behind West Swanzey’s civic life grade
West Swanzey 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Stratton Free 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 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,755 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
1,815 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 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.
Find it
Stratton Free Library, 9 Main Street, West Swanzey.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in West Swanzey? 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 $1.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Swanzey resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $67K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $106K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $67K 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 7,331 people it serves ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 West Swanzey
Does West Swanzey have a public library?
Yes. Stratton Free Library, 9 Main Street, serves 7,331 people in and around West Swanzey (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stratton Free 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 West Swanzey’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is West Swanzey’s civic life grade?
West Swanzey 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 West 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.