Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Norwood’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) serves 2,157 people in and around Norwood. Last year it lent 9,546 books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
Norwood’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 91% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 43%. The building also logs about 108 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 87% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
A well-funded system
Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) spends $197 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. 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; Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) serves 2,157 people in and around Norwood, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Norwood’s civic life grade
Norwood 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) serves 2,157 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,546 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,453 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, 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
Lone Cone Library District (Norwood), 1455 Pinion St., Norwood.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) branch.
New in Norwood? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $424K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $310K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $424K 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 1,234 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) serves 2,157 people in and around Norwood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Norwood.
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 Norwood
Does Norwood have a public library?
Yes. Lone Cone Library District (Norwood), 1455 Pinion St., serves 2,157 people in and around Norwood (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lone Cone Library District (Norwood) 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 Norwood’s library?
It logged 10.7 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Norwood’s civic life grade?
Norwood 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 Norwood.
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.