Gates Farm Covered Bridge · Photo: Srbergeron at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Cambridge’s library runs 108 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Varnum Memorial serves Cambridge’s 3,783 residents. Last year it lent 9,145 print books and media and logged 8,496 visits.
The short version on Cambridge’s library
Every town next door borrows more
Cambridge’s library lends 2.4 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Stowe at 16. Libraries next door ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
52% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 0%. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Varnum Memorial ran 409 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 108 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. 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.
What’s behind Cambridge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cambridge is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #56 of 71 in Vermont. Cambridge’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Cambridge
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of Cambridge’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 Cambridge’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Varnum Memorial serves 3,783 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
9,145 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 Cambridge’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Varnum Memorial, 194 Main St., Jeffersonville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cambridge? 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 $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cambridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $159K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $172K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $159K 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 2,083 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cambridge ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stowe | Stowe Free Library fine-free | 16.4 | 41 | A |
| Westford | Westford Public fine-free | 7.3 | 34 | A− |
| Fairfax | Fairfax Community fine-free | 7.1 | 45 | C |
| Johnson | Johnson Public fine-free | 2.9 | 32 | C+ |
| Cambridge | Varnum Memorial fine-free | 2.4 | 38 | B− |
| Morristown | Morristown Centennial fine-free | — | 40 | A+ |
| Waterville | Waterville Town | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Fletcher | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Underhill | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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.
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 Cambridge
Does Cambridge have a public library?
Yes. Varnum Memorial, 194 Main St., serves Cambridge’s 3,783 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Varnum Memorial 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 Cambridge’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cambridge’s civic life grade?
B− Cambridge is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #56 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 Cambridge.
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.