Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Winchester’s library lends 2.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Thayer Public Library serves Winchester’s 4,195 residents. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and drew 141 people to its programs.
The short version on Winchester’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Thayer Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Thayer Public Library keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The buildings ↓
Runs on less money than most
Thayer Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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 Winchester’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Winchester is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #58 of 126 in New Hampshire. Winchester is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Winchester
3.8 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Winchester’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 Winchester’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.
Thayer Public Library serves 4,195 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 731 visits against 10K loans, so we leave the count out.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
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 Winchester last year.
2 places to borrow in Winchester
Thayer Public Library, 3 Ashuelot Main Street, Ashuelot.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Winchester? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Winchester
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $6.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Winchester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $166K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 151 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Winchester ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warwick | Warwick Free Public Library fine-free | 6.3 | 18 | — under 1,000 residents |
| 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 |
| 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.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it 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 Winchester
Does Winchester have a public library?
Yes. Thayer Public Library, 3 Ashuelot Main Street, serves Winchester’s 4,195 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thayer Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Winchester’s library?
It lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 139 programs that drew 141 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Winchester’s civic life grade?
B Winchester is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life, #58 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 Winchester.
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.