Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Norwich’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Norwich Public serves Norwich’s 3,628 residents. Last year it lent 64K books, movies and e-books and logged 37K visits.
Norwich’s library, in brief
Norwich borrows more library books per person than any town in Vermont
Out of 43 Vermont towns with a library of their own, Norwich comes first for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
Norwich uses its library more than almost any town its size
Norwich Public logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
26% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 73%. What your card is worth ↓
Norwich invests in its library
Norwich Public spends $129 per resident a year, about three 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 Norwich’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Norwich is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #9 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Norwich’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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Norwich
11.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Norwich’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 Norwich’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Norwich Public serves 3,628 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Norwich’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
21,296 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
201 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Norwich Public, 368 Main St., Norwich.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Norwich? 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 $2.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norwich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $468K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $468K 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 2,445 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Norwich ranks 3rd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyme | Converse Free Library fine-free | 25.4 | 35 | A |
| Hanover | Howe Library fine-free | 18.8 | 54 | A |
| Norwich | Norwich Public fine-free | 17.7 | 42 | A+ |
| Thetford | Latham Memorial fine-free | 11.0 | 30 | A |
| Lebanon | Lebanon Public Library fine-free | 8.5 | 52 | B+ |
| Hartford | Quechee fine-free | 5.9 | 38 | A |
| Sharon | Baxter Memorial fine-free | 4.6 | 22 | A |
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 Norwich
Does Norwich have a public library?
Yes. Norwich Public, 368 Main St., serves Norwich’s 3,628 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Norwich 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 Norwich’s library?
It logged 10.3 visits and lent 17.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Norwich’s civic life grade?
A+ Norwich is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 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 Norwich.
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.