Equinox House · Photo: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller) · CC BY-SA 3.0Manchester’s library runs 240 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Manchester Community Library serves Manchester’s 4,483 residents. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 59K visits.
What Manchester’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
75% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 25%. What your card is worth ↓
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Manchester Community Library ran 1,074 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 240 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 14,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Manchester has a card
4,359 cards for 4,483 people, or 97%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Vermont for library use
Manchester ranks #4 of 43 Vermont towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 13 visits per resident, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Manchester invests in its library
Manchester Community Library spends $212 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Manchester’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Manchester is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #12 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Manchester’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 →
63 community nonprofits are registered in Manchester
14.0 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.6%
8.6% of Manchester’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 Manchester’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Manchester last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Manchester Community Library serves 4,483 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
6,571 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Ave Rte 7a, Manchester.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Manchester? 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 Manchester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $950K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $740K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $950K 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 4,359 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | Manchester Community Library fine-free | 7.8 | 46 | A+ |
| Dorset | Dorset Village Public | 6.3 | 35 | A− |
| Winhall | Winhall Memorial fine-free | — | 17 | — too few inputs |
| Sunderland | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Sandgate | 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.
- 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 Manchester
Does Manchester have a public library?
Yes. Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Ave Rte 7a, serves Manchester’s 4,483 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Manchester Community 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 Manchester’s library?
It logged 13.1 visits and lent 7.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Manchester’s civic life grade?
A+ Manchester is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #12 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 Manchester.
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.