Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Troy’s library is a branch of Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Troy’s library is the William & Lucy Rand Memorial, a branch of Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial, which serves 2,337 people and lent 2,223 items last year.
What Troy’s library is like
The Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial system is used less than most libraries its size
The Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial system records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Troy branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 73% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial system spends $11 per resident, less than 97% 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; Troy’s library is a branch of Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial, so they cover the whole system (2,337 people), not just the Troy branch; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Troy’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Troy is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. Troy is graded on two of the three inputs. Troy’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($66K–$110K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Troy
4.3 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.
5.4%
5.4% of Troy’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 Troy’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.
Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial serves 2,337 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, for the whole Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,223 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
109 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
William & Lucy Rand Memorial, 160 Railroad St., North Troy.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial branch.
New in Troy? 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 $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Troy cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 336 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.
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. William & Lucy Rand Memorial is one branch of Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 2,337 people it serves.
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 Troy
Does Troy have a public library?
Yes: William & Lucy Rand Memorial, 160 Railroad St., is a branch of Wm. & Lucy Rand Memorial, which serves 2,337 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wm. & Lucy Rand 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 Troy’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Troy’s civic life grade?
C Troy is ahead of 33% 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 Troy.
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.