South Burlington’s library lends 9.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
South Burlington serves South Burlington’s 20,488 residents. Last year it lent 187K print books and media and logged 116K visits.
What stands out about South Burlington’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind South Burlington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Burlington is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #35 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; South Burlington’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 →
123 community nonprofits are registered in South Burlington
5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of South Burlington’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 South Burlington’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
187K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 62K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
South Burlington serves 20,488 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 68 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 7 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 South Burlington last year.
Find it
South Burlington, 550 Dorset St., S. Burlington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Burlington? 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 $2.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Burlington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 10,117 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Burlington ranks 3rd of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | Pierson fine-free | 10.5 | 44 | A |
| Essex Junction | Brownell fine-free | 10.1 | 55 | A− |
| South Burlington | South Burlington fine-free | 9.1 | 53 | A− |
| Essex | Essex Free Library fine-free | 6.2 | 51 | B+ |
| Colchester | Burnham Memorial fine-free | 5.3 | 47 | B− |
| Burlington | Fletcher Free Library fine-free | 5.2 | 58 | A |
| Willsboro | Paine Memorial Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 39 | B− |
| Winooski | Winooski Memorial fine-free | 2.3 | 36 | C+ |
| Williston | Dorothy Alling Memorial fine-free | — | 49 | A− |
| Chesterfield | Keeseville Free Library fine-free | — | 35 | C− |
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 South Burlington
Does South Burlington have a public library?
Yes. South Burlington, 550 Dorset St., serves South Burlington’s 20,488 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Burlington 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 South Burlington’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 9.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is South Burlington’s civic life grade?
A− South Burlington is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 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 South Burlington.
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.