Edwards’ library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hepburn Library of Edwards serves Edwards’s 1,015 residents. Last year it lent 1,168 print books and media and logged 1,433 visits.
The short version on Edwards’s library
Hepburn Library of Edwards is used less than most libraries its size
Hepburn Library of Edwards records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Hepburn Library of Edwards offered 5 programs last year, 4.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Hepburn Library of Edwards serves 1,015 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Hepburn Library of Edwards keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 20% of the people Hepburn Library of Edwards serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Edwards’ civic life grade
Edwards 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 under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hepburn Library of Edwards serves 1,015 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,168 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,601 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
5 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Edwards last year.
Find it
Hepburn Library of Edwards, 205 Main Street, Edwards.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Edwards? 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 $3.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edwards cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $191K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 206 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Edwards borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwards | Hepburn Library of Edwards fine-free | 1.2 | 21 | — graded with its twin city |
| Hermon | Hepburn Library of Hermon fine-free | 0.6 | 30 | C |
| Russell | Russell Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 35 | C− |
| Pitcairn | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Fowler | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Fine | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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.
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 Edwards
Does Edwards have a public library?
Yes. Hepburn Library of Edwards, 205 Main Street, serves Edwards’ 1,015 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hepburn Library of Edwards 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 Edwards’ library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Edwards’ civic life grade?
Edwards 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 Edwards.
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.