Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0Barton’s library runs 212 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Barton Public serves 1,475 people in and around Barton. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
What Barton’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
78% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 21%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
4,415 people came to the system’s 312 programs last year: 3 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 312 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 144 were for children. 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; Barton Public serves 1,475 people in and around Barton, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Barton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Barton is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #55 of 71 in Vermont. Barton is graded on two of the three inputs. Barton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Barton
6.1 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.7%
5.7% of Barton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Vermont 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 Barton’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Barton Public serves 1,475 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Barton Public system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
13K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Barton
Barton Public, 100 Church St., Barton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Barton Public branch.
New in Barton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Barton Public branches in Barton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Barton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $73K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $238K 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 970 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glover | Glover Public fine-free | 1.2 | 22 | A− |
| Barton | Barton Public fine-free | — | 25 | B− |
| Irasburg | Leach Public | — | — | D |
| Brownington | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Sheffield | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sutton | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Westmore | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Barton Public serves 1,475 people in and around Barton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Barton.
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 Barton
Does Barton have a public library?
Yes. Barton Public, 100 Church St., serves 1,475 people in and around Barton (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Barton 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 Barton’s library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 8.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Barton’s civic life grade?
B− Barton is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on civic life, #55 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Barton.
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.