Photo: Infrarrojo00 · CC BY-SA 4.0Lisbon’s library runs 10 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hepburn Library of Lisbon serves Lisbon’s 4,221 residents. Last year it lent 7,427 books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
What Lisbon’s library is like
Every town next door borrows more
Lisbon’s library lends 1.8 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Oswegatchie at 7.6. Libraries next door ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Hepburn Library of Lisbon has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2016. Today’s library there has 4,016 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 69% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 63% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Hepburn Library of Lisbon holds 24,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Lisbon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lisbon is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #642 of 751 in New York. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Hepburn Library of Lisbon spends $18 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$92K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Lisbon
2.9 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.
5.2%
5.2% of Lisbon’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 Lisbon’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2016
Hepburn Library of Lisbon, 6899 County Route 10, Lisbon.
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 Lisbon? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hepburn Library of Lisbon
Hepburn Library of Lisbon was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 22, 2016. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hepburn Library of Lisbon serves 4,221 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,427 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
358 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
42 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 Lisbon last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lisbon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $77K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $166K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $77K 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 1,023 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lisbon ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oswegatchie | Heuvelton Free Library fine-free | 7.6 | 31 | D |
| Canton | Canton Free Library fine-free | 4.5 | 50 | B− |
| Madrid | Hepburn Library of Madrid fine-free | 2.9 | 20 | B+ |
| Waddington | Hepburn Library of Waddington fine-free | 2.9 | 32 | B |
| Ogdensburg | Ogdensburg Public Library | 2.6 | 37 | B− |
| Lisbon | Hepburn Library of Lisbon fine-free | 1.8 | 31 | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Lisbon
Does Lisbon have a public library?
Yes. Hepburn Library of Lisbon, 6899 County Route 10, serves Lisbon’s 4,221 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hepburn Library of Lisbon 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 Lisbon’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lisbon’s civic life grade?
C− Lisbon is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #642 of 751 in New York. 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 Lisbon.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.