Photo: Nwalsh (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0Belchertown’s library runs 41 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Clapp Memorial Library serves Belchertown’s 15,316 residents. Last year it lent 85K print books and media and logged 75K visits.
What stands out about Belchertown’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Belchertown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Belchertown is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #55 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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in Belchertown
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.1%
13.1% of Belchertown’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 Belchertown’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Clapp Memorial Library serves 15,316 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
85K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Belchertown last year.
Find it
Clapp Memorial Library, 19 S. Main Street, Belchertown.
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 Belchertown? 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 $1.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Belchertown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $816K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $816K 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 6,638 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Belchertown ranks 6th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | Pelham Library fine-free | 19.3 | 25 | B+ |
| New Salem | New Salem Public Library fine-free | 11.1 | 20 | A |
| Granby | Granby Free Public Library fine-free | 10.7 | 31 | B+ |
| Amherst Town | Jones Library, Inc. fine-free | 8.8 | 81 | A− |
| Palmer Town | Palmer Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 42 | C+ |
| Belchertown | Clapp Memorial Library fine-free | 5.5 | 44 | A− |
| Ludlow | Hubbard Memorial Library fine-free | 3.3 | 40 | C− |
| Ware | Young Men's Library Association fine-free | 2.7 | 32 | 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 Belchertown
Does Belchertown have a public library?
Yes. Clapp Memorial Library, 19 S. Main Street, serves Belchertown’s 15,316 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clapp 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 Belchertown’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 5.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Belchertown’s civic life grade?
A− Belchertown is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #55 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 Belchertown.
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.