Photo: Greenmountainboy · CC BY-SA 3.0Shoreham’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Platt Memorial serves 2,482 people in and around Shoreham. Last year it lent 4,459 print books and media and logged 2,601 visits.
Shoreham’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Platt Memorial sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 96 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 25 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; Platt Memorial serves 2,482 people in and around Shoreham, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Shoreham’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shoreham is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Shoreham is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Shoreham
3.9 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.2%
12.2% of Shoreham’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 Shoreham’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Platt Memorial serves 2,482 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Platt Memorial system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,459 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Shoreham’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
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, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Platt Memorial, 279 Main St., Shoreham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Platt Memorial branch.
New in Shoreham? 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 $1.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shoreham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $57K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $84K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $57K 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 860 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orwell | Orwell Free Library fine-free | 4.4 | 25 | A |
| Ticonderoga | Ticonderoga Black Watch Memorial Library fine-free | 3.7 | 35 | B |
| Cornwall | Cornwall Free Public fine-free | 0.7 | 24 | C |
| Shoreham | Platt Memorial fine-free | — | 27 | A− |
| Crown Point | Hammond Library of Crown Point fine-free | — | 25 | D− |
| Bridport | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Whiting | 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.
- System-wide. Platt Memorial serves 2,482 people in and around Shoreham, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Shoreham.
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 Shoreham
Does Shoreham have a public library?
Yes. Platt Memorial, 279 Main St., serves 2,482 people in and around Shoreham (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Platt Memorial 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 Shoreham’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Shoreham’s civic life grade?
A− Shoreham is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Shoreham.
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.