Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Brandon’s library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Brandon Free Public serves 5,994 people in and around Brandon. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 55K visits.
The short version on Brandon’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 92% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 47%. The building also logs about 8 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
55% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 45%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 280 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 106 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; Brandon Free Public serves 5,994 people in and around Brandon, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Brandon’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brandon is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #17 of 71 in Vermont. Brandon is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Brandon’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Brandon
7.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Brandon’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 Brandon’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brandon Free Public system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Brandon Free Public serves 5,994 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
22K 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.
About 2 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
Brandon Free Public, 4 Franklin St., Brandon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Brandon Free Public branch.
New in Brandon? 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 Brandon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $419K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $359K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $419K 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 1,382 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsford | Maclure fine-free | 3.4 | 35 | A− |
| Chittenden | Chittenden Public fine-free | 0.7 | 13 | B |
| Brandon | Brandon Free Public fine-free | — | 40 | A |
| Goshen | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Leicester | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Sudbury | 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. Brandon Free Public serves 5,994 people in and around Brandon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brandon.
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 Brandon
Does Brandon have a public library?
Yes. Brandon Free Public, 4 Franklin St., serves 5,994 people in and around Brandon (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brandon Free 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 Brandon’s library?
It logged 9.2 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Brandon’s civic life grade?
A Brandon is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 Brandon.
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.