Gifford Woods State Park · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Killington’s library logs 29 visits per resident, the ninth-highest of 3,790 U.S. town libraries
Sherburne Memorial serves Killington’s 835 residents. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 25K visits.
Killington’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,400 cards for 835 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Killington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Sherburne Memorial logs 29 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 21 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Sherburne Memorial ran 287 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 344 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 5,825 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Killington invests in its library
Sherburne Memorial spends $337 per resident a year, about six times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Killington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Killington is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Sherburne Memorial logged 29.4 visits per resident in FY2024, #9 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Killington
16.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
6.2%
6.2% of Killington’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 Killington’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sherburne Memorial serves 835 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
18K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 20K 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
Sherburne Memorial, 2998 River Rd., Killington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Killington? 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 $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Killington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $282K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $363K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $282K 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 1,400 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killington | Sherburne Memorial fine-free | 21.3 | 40 | A |
| Chittenden | Chittenden Public fine-free | 0.7 | 13 | B |
| Pittsfield | Roger Clark Memorial | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mendon | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Bridgewater | 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.
- Visits count everyone. Killington’s 24,532 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- 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 Killington
Does Killington have a public library?
Yes. Sherburne Memorial, 2998 River Rd., serves Killington’s 835 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sherburne 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 Killington’s library?
It logged 29.4 visits and lent 21.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Its visits per resident rank #9 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Killington’s civic life grade?
A Killington is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Killington.
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.