Photo: Pvmoutside at English Wikipedia · Public domainBarre’s library lends 7.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Woods Memorial Library serves Barre’s 5,533 residents. Last year it lent 41K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Barre’s library
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Woods Memorial Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Barre out-borrows every town next door
At 7.3 loans per resident, Barre leads the four towns here. The closest is Oakham, at 7.2. Libraries next door ↓
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.
What’s behind Barre’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Barre is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #38 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Barre
5.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.8%
15.8% of Barre’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Massachusetts 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 Barre’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
41K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Woods Memorial Library serves 5,533 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Barre last year.
Find it
Woods Memorial Library, 19 Pleasant St., Barre.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Barre? 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 $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Barre cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $328K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $664K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $328K 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 2,833 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Barre borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barre | Woods Memorial Library fine-free | 7.3 | 31 | A |
| Oakham | Fobes Memorial Library fine-free | 7.2 | 28 | A |
| Rutland | Rutland Free Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 36 | B |
| Hubbardston | Hubbardston Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 22 | C+ |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. Massachusetts libraries often don’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 Barre
Does Barre have a public library?
Yes. Woods Memorial Library, 19 Pleasant St., serves Barre’s 5,533 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Woods Memorial 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 Barre’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 7.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Barre’s civic life grade?
A Barre is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #38 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 Barre.
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.