Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Alburgh’s library runs 140 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Alburgh Public serves 1,802 people in and around Alburgh. Last year it lent 4,073 print books and media and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Alburgh’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 28%. The building also logs about 5 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 79% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
A small-town library
Alburgh Public serves 1,802 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 31 hours a week. 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 ↓
Alburgh Public serves more than Alburgh
The library’s service area covers 1,802 people in and around Alburgh, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Alburgh’s civic life grade
Alburgh 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 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Alburgh Public serves 1,802 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.
Books and media off the shelf
4,073 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,807 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
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.
Find it
Alburgh Public, 16 S. Main St., Alburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Alburgh? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alburgh cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $73K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $100K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $73K 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 731 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Vermont 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 Alburgh
Does Alburgh have a public library?
Yes. Alburgh Public, 16 S. Main St., serves 1,802 people in and around Alburgh (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alburgh Public 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 Alburgh’s library?
It logged 6.5 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Alburgh’s civic life grade?
Alburgh 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 Alburgh.
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.