Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0North Hero’s library runs 123 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
North Hero Public serves North Hero’s 1,264 residents. Last year it lent 7,723 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,824 visits.
The short version on North Hero’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
64% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 36%. What your card is worth ↓
North Hero out-borrows every town next door
At 6.1 loans per resident, North Hero leads the four towns here. The closest is Swanton, at 3. Libraries next door ↓
A small-town library
North Hero Public serves 1,264 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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 North Hero’s civic life grade
North Hero 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
North Hero Public serves 1,264 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,723 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,216 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
1,415 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
156 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
North Hero Public, 3195 Us Rte 2, North Hero.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Hero? 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 $1.86 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Hero cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $73K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $135K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $73K 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 562 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Hero borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Hero | North Hero Public fine-free | 6.1 | 24 | — graded with its twin city |
| Swanton | Swanton Public fine-free | 3.0 | 36 | C |
| Grand Isle | Grand Isle Free Library fine-free | 2.3 | 26 | C |
| Alburgh | Alburgh Public fine-free | 2.3 | 31 | B+ |
| Isle La Motte | Isle La Motte Free Public | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| St. Albans | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Beekmantown | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 North Hero
Does North Hero have a public library?
Yes. North Hero Public, 3195 Us Rte 2, serves North Hero’s 1,264 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Hero 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 North Hero’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is North Hero’s civic life grade?
North Hero 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 North Hero.
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.