Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Milton’s library runs 117 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library serves Milton’s 1,650 residents. Last year it lent 7,707 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,915 visits.
The short version on Milton’s library
New York pays a big share
26% of the budget comes from the state, and 68% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 193 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Milton invests in its library
Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library spends $126 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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 Milton’s civic life grade
Milton 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 →
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $208K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $141K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $208K 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 763 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library serves 1,650 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,707 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
2,024 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Milton last year.
Find it
Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library, 56-58 Main Street, Milton.
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 Milton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library fine-free | 4.7 | 43 | — graded as part of its town |
| Marlboro | Marlboro Free Library fine-free | — | 59 | — graded as part of its town |
| Marlborough | Marlboro Free Library fine-free | — | 59 | B− |
| Lloyd | Highland Public Library fine-free | — | 43 | B |
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 Milton
Does Milton have a public library?
Yes. Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library, 56-58 Main Street, serves Milton’s 1,650 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sarah Hull Hallock 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 Milton’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 4.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Milton’s civic life grade?
Milton 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 Milton.
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.