Brown Covered Bridge · Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Shrewsbury’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Shrewsbury serves Shrewsbury’s 1,250 residents. Last year it lent 1,484 print books and media and logged 2,500 visits.
Shrewsbury’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
70% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 30%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Shrewsbury sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
Shrewsbury keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Shrewsbury serves 1,250 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Runs on less money than most
Shrewsbury spends $16 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Shrewsbury’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shrewsbury is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Shrewsbury’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Shrewsbury
10.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
6.3%
6.3% of Shrewsbury’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 Shrewsbury’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Shrewsbury serves 1,250 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,484 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
36 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Shrewsbury last year.
Find it
Shrewsbury, 98 Town Hill Rd., Shrewsbury.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shrewsbury? 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 $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shrewsbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $21K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $29K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21K 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 355 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shrewsbury ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallingford | Gilbert Hart fine-free | 2.3 | 28 | B+ |
| Shrewsbury | Shrewsbury fine-free | 1.2 | 18 | B− |
| Clarendon | Bailey Memorial fine-free | 0.6 | 25 | C− |
| Mount Holly | Mount Holly Town | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Plymouth | Tyson | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mendon | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Shrewsbury counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Shrewsbury
Does Shrewsbury have a public library?
Yes. Shrewsbury, 98 Town Hill Rd., serves Shrewsbury’s 1,250 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shrewsbury 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 Shrewsbury’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Shrewsbury’s civic life grade?
B− Shrewsbury is ahead of 50% 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 Shrewsbury.
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.