Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Derby Line’s library runs 14 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Haskell Free Library serves 7,109 people in and around Derby Line. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Derby Line’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
52% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 15%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Haskell Free Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Haskell Free Library and Opera House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. Today’s library there has 2,100 square feet. The building ↓
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 103 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Haskell Free Library serves 7,109 people in and around Derby Line, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Derby Line’s civic life grade
Derby Line 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 →
A National Register landmark since 1976
Haskell Free Library, 93 Caswell Ave., Derby Line.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Haskell Free Library branch.
New in Derby Line? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Haskell Free Library and Opera House
Haskell Free Library and Opera House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 8, 1976. It is significant for its education, architecture and performing arts at the state level.
The Haskell Free Library and Opera House (French: Bibliothèque et salle d'opéra Haskell) is a Victorian building that straddles the Canada–United States border, in Rock Island (now part of Stanstead), Quebec, and Derby Line, Vermont, respectively. The Opera House opened on June 7, 1904, having deliberately been built on the international border.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Haskell Free Library serves 7,109 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Haskell Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,427 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Derby Line cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $269K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $353K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $269K 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 1,056 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Haskell Free Library serves 7,109 people in and around Derby Line, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Derby Line.
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 Derby Line
Does Derby Line have a public library?
Yes. Haskell Free Library, 93 Caswell Ave., serves 7,109 people in and around Derby Line (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Haskell Free Library 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 Derby Line’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Derby Line’s civic life grade?
Derby Line 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 Derby Line.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.