Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Williston’s library runs 72 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Dorothy Alling Memorial serves 10,541 people in and around Williston. Last year it lent 134K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
Williston’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Dorothy Alling Memorial ran 763 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 72 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Dorothy Alling Memorial lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. 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; Dorothy Alling Memorial serves 10,541 people in and around Williston, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Williston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Williston is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #31 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Williston’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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in Williston
6.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.6%
7.6% of Williston’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 Williston’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Dorothy Alling Memorial serves 10,541 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 51 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dorothy Alling Memorial system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
134K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
27,457 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Dorothy Alling Memorial, 21 Library Lane, Williston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dorothy Alling Memorial branch.
New in Williston? 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 $2.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Williston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $890K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $890K 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 4,615 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.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | Richmond Free Library fine-free | 11.8 | 42 | 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+ |
| Williston | Dorothy Alling Memorial fine-free | — | 49 | A− |
| Jericho | Jericho Town | — | — | A− |
| St. George | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- System-wide. Dorothy Alling Memorial serves 10,541 people in and around Williston, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Williston.
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 Williston
Does Williston have a public library?
Yes. Dorothy Alling Memorial, 21 Library Lane, serves 10,541 people in and around Williston (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dorothy Alling 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 Williston’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 12.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Williston’s civic life grade?
A− Williston is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 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 Williston.
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.