Radcliffe’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Radcliffe Public Library serves Radcliffe’s 898 residents. Last year it lent 10K print books and media and logged 6,330 visits.
What Radcliffe’s library is like
More library cards than residents
954 cards for 898 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Radcliffe Public Library serves 898 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 42 hours a week. 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 ↓
Radcliffe is a town of borrowers
Radcliffe Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 27 items per child in Radcliffe last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 92 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 48 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 Radcliffe’s civic life grade
Radcliffe 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 Radcliffe last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Radcliffe Public Library serves 898 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
10K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Find it
Radcliffe Public Library, 210 Isabella, Radcliffe.
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 $2.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Radcliffe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $67K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $163K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $67K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 954 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- 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 Radcliffe
Does Radcliffe have a public library?
Yes. Radcliffe Public Library, 210 Isabella, serves Radcliffe’s 898 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Radcliffe Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Radcliffe’s library?
It logged 7.0 visits and lent 11.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Radcliffe’s civic life grade?
Radcliffe 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 Radcliffe.
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.