Parish of the Holy Trinity · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Swanton’s library runs 55 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Swanton Public serves Swanton’s 6,792 residents. Last year it lent 21K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Swanton’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people Swanton Public serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
82% of the 373 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 59 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.
What’s behind Swanton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Swanton is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #68 of 71 in Vermont. Swanton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$102K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Swanton
4.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.1%
6.1% of Swanton’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 Swanton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Swanton Public serves 6,792 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
21K 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 Swanton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
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, 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
Swanton Public, 1 First St., Swanton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Swanton? 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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Swanton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $229K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $441K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $229K 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 779 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Swanton ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Hero | North Hero Public fine-free | 6.1 | 24 | — graded with its twin city |
| Fairfield | Bent Northrop Memorial fine-free | 4.7 | 33 | B |
| Swanton | Swanton Public fine-free | 3.0 | 36 | C |
| Alburgh | Alburgh Public fine-free | 2.3 | 31 | B+ |
| Sheldon | Sheldon Municipal fine-free | 1.7 | 22 | D− |
| Highgate | Highgate Public | — | — | D |
| St. Albans | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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 Swanton
Does Swanton have a public library?
Yes. Swanton Public, 1 First St., serves Swanton’s 6,792 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Swanton Public 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 Swanton’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Swanton’s civic life grade?
C Swanton is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #68 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 Swanton.
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.