Hepburn Library · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Norfolk’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Hepburn Library of Norfolk serves Norfolk’s 4,453 residents. Last year it lent 5,041 print books and media and logged 5,262 visits.
Norfolk’s library, in brief
Hepburn Library of Norfolk is used less than most libraries its size
Hepburn Library of Norfolk records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $27 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Hepburn Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004. Today’s library there has 2,808 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people Hepburn Library of Norfolk serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Hepburn Library of Norfolk logs about 144 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 5 public computers. That’s 12 sessions per resident a year. 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.
What’s behind Norfolk’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Norfolk is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #621 of 751 in New York. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Hepburn Library of Norfolk spends $27 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$84K) 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Norfolk
2.5 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Norfolk’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 Norfolk’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2004
Hepburn Library of Norfolk, 1 Hepburn Street, Norfolk.
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 Norfolk? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hepburn Library
Hepburn Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 24, 2004. It is significant for its education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Early 20th Century and Classical and Georgian Revival.
Hepburn Library is a historic library building located at Norfolk in St. Lawrence County, New York. It was designed by architects Rossiter & Muller and built in 1919–1920. It is a T-shaped, cross-gable-roofed Georgian Revival style brick building on a full, raised basement. Funding for its construction was provided by local philanthropist A. Barton Hepburn.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hepburn Library of Norfolk serves 4,453 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
5,041 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Norfolk last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norfolk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $120K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $242K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $120K 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 436 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Norfolk ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massena | Massena Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 42 | B |
| Madrid | Hepburn Library of Madrid fine-free | 2.9 | 20 | B+ |
| Norfolk | Hepburn Library of Norfolk fine-free | 1.1 | 40 | C− |
| Potsdam | Potsdam Public Library fine-free | — | 62 | A− |
| Louisville | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Stockholm | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Brasher | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- 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 Norfolk
Does Norfolk have a public library?
Yes. Hepburn Library of Norfolk, 1 Hepburn Street, serves Norfolk’s 4,453 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hepburn Library of Norfolk 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 Norfolk’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Norfolk’s civic life grade?
C− Norfolk is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #621 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 Norfolk.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.