Martilla-Pettingel and Gorder General Merchandise Store · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Frederick’s library runs 9.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Emma Burnham Public Library serves Frederick’s 206 residents. Last year it lent 382 books, movies and e-books and logged 411 visits.
What Frederick’s library is like
More library cards than residents
273 cards for 206 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
Emma Burnham Public Library keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Emma Burnham Public Library serves 206 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Emma Burnham Public Library offered 2 programs last year, 9.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
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 Frederick’s civic life grade
Frederick 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Emma Burnham Public Library serves 206 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Emma Burnham Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
382 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,315 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 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.
Find it
Emma Burnham Public Library, 403 Main St., Frederick.
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 Frederick? 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 Frederick cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $9,701.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7,073 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9,701 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 273 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Frederick
Does Frederick have a public library?
Yes. Emma Burnham Public Library, 403 Main St., serves Frederick’s 206 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Emma Burnham Public 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 Frederick’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Frederick’s civic life grade?
Frederick 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 Frederick.
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.