Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Sutton’s library runs 51 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sutton Public Library serves 4,686 people in and around Sutton. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,318 visits.
The short version on Sutton’s library
Sutton Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Sutton Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
33% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 26%. What your card is worth ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. Print still makes up 53%. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Sutton Public Library spends $14 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Sutton Public Library serves 4,686 people in and around Sutton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Sutton’s civic life grade
Sutton 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 →
47% of borrowing is digital
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Sutton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
4,895 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sutton Public Library serves 4,686 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sutton Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Sutton Public Library, 500 Main Street, Sutton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sutton Public Library branch.
New in Sutton? 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 $2.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sutton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $68K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $177K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $68K 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 2,164 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sutton Public Library serves 4,686 people in and around Sutton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sutton.
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 Sutton
Does Sutton have a public library?
Yes. Sutton Public Library, 500 Main Street, serves 4,686 people in and around Sutton (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sutton Public 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 Sutton’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sutton’s civic life grade?
Sutton 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 Sutton.
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.