Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Port Henry’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Sherman Free Library serves 4,716 people in and around Port Henry. Last year it lent 2,103 print books and media and logged 3,823 visits.
What Port Henry’s library is like
Sherman Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
Sherman Free Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Sherman Free Library offered 5 programs last year, 1.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Sherman Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1995. Today’s library there has 1,508 square feet. The building ↓
Sherman Free Library serves more than Port Henry
The library’s service area covers 4,716 people in and around Port Henry, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Sherman Free Library spends $10 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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.
What’s behind Port Henry’s civic life grade
Port Henry 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 →
A National Register landmark since 1995
Sherman Free Library, 20 Church Street, Port Henry.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Port Henry? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Sherman Free Library
Sherman Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 1, 1995. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Late Victorian and Romanesque. It was listed as part of Moriah MPS.
Sherman Free Library is an historic free association library, located in the hamlet of Port Henry, in the town of Moriah, in Essex County, New York. It was built in 1887 and has two rooms, and is a 1+1⁄2-story brick building topped by slate-covered, steeply pitched gable roofs, on a limestone foundation. An addition was built in 1907. It features deeply arched fenestration in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
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.
Sherman Free Library serves 4,716 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.
Books and media off the shelf
2,103 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K 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
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Henry cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $45K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45K 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 1,237 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Henry | Sherman Free Library fine-free | 0.4 | 27 | — graded as part of its town |
| Moriah | Sherman Free Library fine-free | 0.4 | 27 | D− |
| Crown Point | Hammond Library of Crown Point fine-free | — | 25 | D− |
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 Port Henry
Does Port Henry have a public library?
Yes. Sherman Free Library, 20 Church Street, serves 4,716 people in and around Port Henry (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sherman 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 Port Henry’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Port Henry’s civic life grade?
Port Henry 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 Port Henry.
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.