Photo: Robert Justin Close · CC BY-SA 4.0Essex’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex serves Essex’s 621 residents. Last year it lent 1,002 print books and media and logged 485 visits.
The short version on Essex’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
72% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 25%. What your card is worth ↓
Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex is used less than most libraries its size
Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Essex’s library lends 1.6 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Charlotte at 12. Libraries next door ↓
A small-town library
Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex serves 621 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 hours a week. 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 ↓
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 Essex’s civic life grade
Essex 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex serves 621 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1,002 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,109 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.
30 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Essex last year.
Find it
Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex, 2759 Essex Rd., Essex.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Essex? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Essex cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $43K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $23K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $43K 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 434 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Essex ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Charlotte fine-free | 11.8 | 43 | A |
| Willsboro | Paine Memorial Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 39 | B− |
| Westport | Westport Library Association fine-free | 2.8 | 21 | A− |
| Essex | Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex fine-free | 1.6 | 24 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lewis | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Essex
Does Essex have a public library?
Yes. Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex, 2759 Essex Rd., serves Essex’s 621 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex 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 Essex’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Essex’s civic life grade?
Essex 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 Essex.
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.