Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Chicopee’s library runs 11 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Chicopee Public Library serves Chicopee’s 54,980 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 254K print books and media and logged 130K visits.
What Chicopee’s library is like
Open about 100 hours a week
The main library is open about 100 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out. The buildings ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 619 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 173 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Chicopee’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chicopee is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #269 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
97 community nonprofits are registered in Chicopee
1.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Chicopee’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 Chicopee’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Chicopee Public Library serves 54,980 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
254K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 111K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
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, 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 Chicopee last year.
2 places to borrow in Chicopee
Chicopee Public Library, 449 Front St., Chicopee.
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 Chicopee? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Chicopee
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 Chicopee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 25,552 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Chicopee ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hadley | South Hadley Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 66 | A− |
| West Springfield Town | West Springfield Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 54 | C− |
| Chicopee | Chicopee Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 100 | D |
| Ludlow | Hubbard Memorial Library fine-free | 3.3 | 40 | C− |
| Springfield | Springfield City Library fine-free | 1.7 | — | D |
| Holyoke | Holyoke Public Library fine-free | 1.2 | 51 | 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 Chicopee
Does Chicopee have a public library?
Yes. Chicopee Public Library, 449 Front St., serves Chicopee’s 54,980 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 100 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chicopee Public 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 Chicopee’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 4.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Chicopee’s civic life grade?
D Chicopee is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #269 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 Chicopee.
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.