Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Chelsea’s library runs 222 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Chelsea Public Library serves Chelsea’s 338 residents. Last year it lent 711 print books and media and logged 1,812 visits.
What Chelsea’s library is like
A small-town library
Chelsea Public Library serves 338 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Chelsea Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 75 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 24 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Chelsea’s civic life grade
Chelsea 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 →
About 1 kids’ program 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Chelsea last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Chelsea Public Library serves 338 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Chelsea Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
711 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 6,068 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Chelsea Public Library, 515 Station St., Chelsea.
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 Chelsea cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $29K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $18K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $29K 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 176 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Chelsea Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Chelsea
Does Chelsea have a public library?
Yes. Chelsea Public Library, 515 Station St., serves Chelsea’s 338 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chelsea Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chelsea’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Chelsea’s civic life grade?
Chelsea 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 Chelsea.
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.