Mount Philo State Park · Photo: LunchboxLarry · CC BY 2.0Charlotte’s library runs 175 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Charlotte serves Charlotte’s 3,905 residents. Last year it lent 46K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
The short version on Charlotte’s library
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Charlotte ran 683 programs last year, about 13 a week. That’s 175 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 9,656 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Charlotte out-borrows every town next door
At 12 loans per resident, Charlotte leads the five towns here. The closest is Shelburne, at 10. Libraries next door ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Charlotte invests in its library
Charlotte spends $106 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Charlotte’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Charlotte is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #22 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Charlotte’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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Charlotte
8.7 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Charlotte’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 Charlotte’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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Charlotte serves 3,905 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
46K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Charlotte’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
14,008 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Charlotte, 115 Ferry Rd., Charlotte.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Charlotte? 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 $2.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Charlotte cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $413K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $868K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $413K 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 2,441 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Charlotte borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Charlotte fine-free | 11.8 | 43 | A |
| Shelburne | Pierson fine-free | 10.5 | 44 | A |
| Willsboro | Paine Memorial Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 39 | B− |
| Monkton | Russell Memorial fine-free | 2.2 | 16 | B+ |
| Essex | Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex fine-free | 1.6 | 24 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hinesburg | Carpenter-Carse fine-free | — | 46 | A− |
| Ferrisburgh | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Charlotte
Does Charlotte have a public library?
Yes. Charlotte, 115 Ferry Rd., serves Charlotte’s 3,905 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charlotte 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 Charlotte’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Charlotte’s civic life grade?
A Charlotte is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #22 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 Charlotte.
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.