Photo: Putneypics · CC BY 2.0Putney’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Putney Public serves Putney’s 2,612 residents. Last year it lent 30K print books and media and logged 31K visits.
Putney’s library, in brief
Putney ranks 2nd in Vermont for kids’ borrowing
Out of 27 Vermont towns with a library of their own, Putney comes 2nd for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Putney uses its library more than almost any town its size
Putney Public logs 12 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 ↓
Putney out-borrows every town next door
At 12 loans per resident, Putney leads the four towns here. The closest is Westminster, at 3.6. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 36 items per child in Putney last year. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Putney Public logs about 33 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 8 public computers. That’s 4.6 sessions per resident a year. 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.
What’s behind Putney’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Putney is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #4 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Putney
7.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
11.0%
11.0% of Putney’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 Putney’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Putney Public serves 2,612 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
30K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Putney last year.
Find it
Putney Public, 55 Main St., Putney.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Putney? 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 $2.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Putney cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $249K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $511K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $249K 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
Putney 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putney | Putney Public fine-free | 11.6 | 41 | A+ |
| Westminster | Butterfield fine-free | 3.6 | 17 | A+ |
| Westmoreland | Westmoreland Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 20 | A |
| Dummerston | Lydia Taft Pratt fine-free | 1.2 | 16 | B |
| Brookline | 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.
- 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 Putney
Does Putney have a public library?
Yes. Putney Public, 55 Main St., serves Putney’s 2,612 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Putney 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 Putney’s library?
It logged 11.9 visits and lent 11.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Putney’s civic life grade?
A+ Putney is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Putney.
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.