Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0South Hero’s library runs 401 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Worthen Library serves South Hero’s 1,615 residents. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 5,911 visits.
The short version on South Hero’s library
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Worthen Library ran 647 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 401 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,482 attended. Kids & programs ↓
South Hero out-borrows every town next door
At 8.6 loans per resident, South Hero leads the five towns here. The closest is Colchester, at 5.3. Libraries next door ↓
A small-town library
Worthen Library serves 1,615 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 37 hours a week. 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 ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 647 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 148 were for children. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind South Hero’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Hero is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; South Hero’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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in South Hero
11.4 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.8%
9.8% of South Hero’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 Hero’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Worthen Library serves 1,615 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K 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 South Hero’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Worthen Library, 75 South St., South Hero.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Hero? 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 $2.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Hero cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $104K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $280K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $104K 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 1,171 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Hero borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hero | Worthen Library fine-free | 8.6 | 37 | A |
| Colchester | Burnham Memorial fine-free | 5.3 | 47 | B− |
| Milton | Milton Public fine-free | 3.8 | 43 | C |
| Grand Isle | Grand Isle Free Library fine-free | 2.3 | 26 | C |
| Peru | Peru Free Library fine-free | 1.8 | 35 | D |
| Plattsburgh | 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. Worthen Library 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 South Hero
Does South Hero have a public library?
Yes. Worthen Library, 75 South St., serves South Hero’s 1,615 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Worthen 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 South Hero’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 8.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is South Hero’s civic life grade?
A South Hero is ahead of 86% 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 South Hero.
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.