Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainChesterfield’s library runs 178 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Keeseville Free Library serves 1,831 people in and around Chesterfield. Last year it lent 7,060 print books and media and logged 3,432 visits.
Chesterfield’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
51% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 47%. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
1,734 cards for 1,831 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. 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; Keeseville Free Library serves 1,831 people in and around Chesterfield, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Chesterfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chesterfield is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. Chesterfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Chesterfield’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$82K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Chesterfield
4.0 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.
3.9%
3.9% of Chesterfield’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Chesterfield’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Keeseville Free Library serves 1,831 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Keeseville Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
7,060 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Keeseville Free Library, 1721 Front Street, Keeseville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Keeseville Free Library branch.
New in Chesterfield? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chesterfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $101K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $107K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $101K 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 1,734 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Burlington | South Burlington fine-free | 9.1 | 53 | A− |
| Colchester | Burnham Memorial fine-free | 5.3 | 47 | B− |
| Willsboro | Paine Memorial Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 39 | B− |
| Chesterfield | Keeseville Free Library fine-free | — | 35 | C− |
| Jay | Ausable Forks Free Library | — | 25 | C− |
| Keeseville | Keeseville Free Library fine-free | — | 35 | — graded as part of its town |
| Au Sable | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Lewis | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Willsboro Point | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Keeseville Free Library serves 1,831 people in and around Chesterfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Chesterfield.
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 Chesterfield
Does Chesterfield have a public library?
Yes. Keeseville Free Library, 1721 Front Street, serves 1,831 people in and around Chesterfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Keeseville 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 Chesterfield’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Chesterfield’s civic life grade?
C− Chesterfield is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Chesterfield.
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.