Photo: Daderot. · CC BY-SA 3.0Cummington’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Bryant Free Library serves Cummington’s 818 residents. Last year it lent 654 print books and media and logged 595 visits.
The short version on Cummington’s library
Bryant Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
Bryant Free Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 9 hours a week
Bryant Free Library keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
More library cards than residents
904 cards for 818 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Bryant Free Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Cummington’s library lends 0.8 items per resident. Each of the six neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Ashfield at 17. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cummington’s civic life grade
Cummington 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bryant Free Library serves 818 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
654 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Cummington last year.
Find it
Bryant Free Library, Route 9, 455 Berkshire Trail, Cummington.
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 $1.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cummington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $9,443.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9,443 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 904 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cummington ranks 7th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashfield | Belding Memorial Library fine-free | 17.1 | 18 | A |
| Plainfield | Shaw Memorial Library | 8.4 | 12 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Windsor | Windsor Free Public Library fine-free | 8.2 | 10 | — graded with its twin city |
| Peru | Peru Library fine-free | 2.0 | 12 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Worthington | Worthington Library fine-free | 1.9 | 16 | B+ |
| Goshen | Goshen Free Public Library | 1.3 | 12 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cummington | Bryant Free Library fine-free | 0.8 | 9 | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Cummington
Does Cummington have a public library?
Yes. Bryant Free Library, Route 9, 455 Berkshire Trail, serves Cummington’s 818 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bryant Free Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cummington’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cummington’s civic life grade?
Cummington 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 Cummington.
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.