Richmond Congregational Church · Photo: John Need · CC BY-SA 3.0Richmond’s library lends 8.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Richmond Free Library serves Richmond’s 4,148 residents. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.
What Richmond’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Richmond last year. Kids & programs ↓
Richmond uses its library more than almost any town its size
Richmond Free Library logs 7.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 213 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Richmond’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Richmond is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #11 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Richmond’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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Richmond
8.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.6%
10.6% of Richmond’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 Richmond’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Richmond Free Library serves 4,148 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
12,358 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 Richmond last year.
Find it
Richmond Free Library, 201 Bridge St., Richmond.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Richmond? 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 $2.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Richmond cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $313K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $746K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $313K 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 1,907 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | Richmond Free Library fine-free | 11.8 | 42 | A+ |
| Huntington | Huntington Public fine-free | 11.6 | 23 | B+ |
| Williston | Dorothy Alling Memorial fine-free | — | 49 | A− |
| Jericho | Jericho Town | — | — | A− |
| Bolton | None of its own | — | — | 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 Richmond
Does Richmond have a public library?
Yes. Richmond Free Library, 201 Bridge St., serves Richmond’s 4,148 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richmond Free 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 Richmond’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Richmond’s civic life grade?
A+ Richmond is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #11 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 Richmond.
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.