Photo: Tichnor Brothers, Publisher · Public domainWilder’s library runs 56 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Quechee serves 5,892 people in and around Wilder. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
Wilder’s library, in brief
Open only about 18 hours a week
Quechee keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Lebanon Public Library in Lebanon, next door, is open about 52 hours a week. The building ↓
Quechee serves more than Wilder
The library’s service area covers 5,892 people in and around Wilder, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Quechee holds 40,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 82% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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 Wilder’s civic life grade
Wilder isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Quechee serves 5,892 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
13,776 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Wilder Branch, 78 Norwich Avenue, Wilder.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wilder? 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 $2.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wilder cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $206K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $550K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $206K 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 2,982 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wilder ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford Village | Hartford fine-free | 9.1 | 42 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lebanon | Lebanon Public Library fine-free | 8.5 | 52 | B+ |
| Wilder | Wilder Branch fine-free | 5.9 | 18 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hartford | Quechee fine-free | 5.9 | 38 | A |
| White River Junction | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Wilder
Does Wilder have a public library?
Yes. Quechee, 78 Norwich Avenue, serves 5,892 people in and around Wilder (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Quechee 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 Wilder’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wilder’s civic life grade?
Wilder isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Wilder.
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.