Nichols House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Barre’s library is a branch of Aldrich Public, which lends less per resident than 55% of systems its size
Barre’s library is the Aldrich Public - East Barre Branch, a branch of Aldrich Public, which serves 16,435 people and lent 59K items last year.
The short version on Barre’s library
Open only about 8 hours a week
The Barre branch keeps short hours: about 8 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
42% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 56%. 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; Barre’s library is a branch of Aldrich Public, so they cover the whole system (16,435 people), not just the Barre branch.
What’s behind Barre’s civic life grade
Barre 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 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Aldrich Public serves 16,435 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Aldrich Public system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
59K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Barre’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Aldrich Public - East Barre Branch, Mill St., East Barre.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Aldrich Public branch.
New in Barre? 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 $1.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Barre cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $769K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $769K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 8,489 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barre | Aldrich Public - East Barre Branch | — | 8 | — graded with its twin city |
| Williamstown | Ainsworth Public | — | — | C |
| East Barre | Aldrich Public - East Barre Branch | — | 8 | — graded as part of its town |
| Berlin | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| South Barre | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Orange | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Graniteville | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| East Montpelier | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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. Vermont libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Aldrich Public - East Barre Branch is one branch of Aldrich Public, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 16,435 people it serves.
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 Barre
Does Barre have a public library?
Yes: Aldrich Public - East Barre Branch, Mill St., is a branch of Aldrich Public, which serves 16,435 people. The branch is open about 8 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Aldrich Public fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Barre’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Barre’s civic life grade?
Barre 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 Barre.
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.