Photo: Jd4508. Original uploader was Jd4508 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Middlebury’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Ilsley Public serves Middlebury’s 9,157 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 129K books, movies and e-books and logged 120K visits.
Middlebury’s library, in brief
Middlebury’s kids borrow the most in Vermont
Out of 27 Vermont towns with a library of their own, Middlebury comes first for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #3 for library use and #3 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Middlebury uses its library more than almost any town its size
Middlebury’s library system logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Middlebury out-borrows every town next door
At 14 loans per resident, Middlebury leads the five towns here. The closest is Bristol, at 8.5. Libraries next door ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 29% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 45 items per child in Middlebury last year. 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 Middlebury’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Middlebury is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Middlebury’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 →
133 community nonprofits are registered in Middlebury
14.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (12 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.
11.7%
11.7% of Middlebury’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 Middlebury’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 39 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ilsley Public serves 9,157 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
129K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
37,273 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Middlebury last year.
2 places to borrow in Middlebury
Ilsley Public, 75 Main St., Middlebury.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Middlebury? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Middlebury
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Middlebury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 4,463 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Middlebury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlebury | Ilsley Public fine-free | 14.0 | 53 | A+ |
| Bristol | Lawrence Memorial fine-free | 8.5 | 36 | A |
| Salisbury | Salisbury Free Public fine-free | 2.9 | 14 | C− |
| New Haven | New Haven Community fine-free | 2.3 | 23 | B |
| Cornwall | Cornwall Free Public fine-free | 0.7 | 24 | C |
| Weybridge | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Ripton | 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 Middlebury
Does Middlebury have a public library?
Yes. Ilsley Public, 75 Main St., serves Middlebury’s 9,157 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ilsley Public 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 Middlebury’s library?
It logged 13.1 visits and lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Middlebury’s civic life grade?
A+ Middlebury is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Middlebury.
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.