Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Granby’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Granby Free Public Library serves Granby’s 6,055 residents. Last year it lent 65K print books and media and logged 29K visits.
What Granby’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 47 items per child in Granby last year. Kids & programs ↓
Granby ranks 6th in Massachusetts for kids’ borrowing
Out of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Granby comes 6th for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Granby Free Public Library ran 626 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 103 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Granby out-borrows every town next door
At 11 loans per resident, Granby leads the five towns here. The closest is Amherst Town, at 8.8. Libraries next door ↓
Granby is a town of borrowers
Granby Free Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Granby’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Granby is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #100 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Granby
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Granby’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 Granby’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Granby last year.
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.
Granby Free Public Library serves 6,055 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
65K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Granby Free Public Library, 297 East State St., Granby.
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 Granby? 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 $3.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Granby cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $264K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $954K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $264K 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 3,132 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Granby borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granby | Granby Free Public Library fine-free | 10.7 | 31 | B+ |
| Amherst Town | Jones Library, Inc. fine-free | 8.8 | 81 | A− |
| South Hadley | South Hadley Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 66 | A− |
| Belchertown | Clapp Memorial Library fine-free | 5.5 | 44 | A− |
| Ludlow | Hubbard Memorial Library fine-free | 3.3 | 40 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Granby Free Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Granby
Does Granby have a public library?
Yes. Granby Free Public Library, 297 East State St., serves Granby’s 6,055 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Granby Free 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 Granby’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 10.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Granby’s civic life grade?
B+ Granby is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #100 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 Granby.
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.