Photo: Anc516 · CC BY 3.0Great Barrington’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mason Library serves Great Barrington’s 7,214 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 90K print books and media and logged 66K visits.
Great Barrington’s library, in brief
Great Barrington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Great Barrington’s library system logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
86% of the 162 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
7,315 cards for 7,214 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 38 items per child in Great Barrington last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for kids’ borrowing
Great Barrington ranks #23 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
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 Great Barrington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Great Barrington is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #25 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Great Barrington’s count of community nonprofits 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 Great Barrington
9.2 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Great Barrington’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 Great Barrington’s residents live; 2022.
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 Great Barrington last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mason Library serves 7,214 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
90K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 83K 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.
2 places to borrow in Great Barrington
Mason Library, 231 Main St., Great Barrington.
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 Great Barrington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Great Barrington
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Great Barrington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $635K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $635K 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 7,315 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Great Barrington ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey | Monterey Library fine-free | 13.8 | 31 | A+ |
| Stockbridge | Stockbridge Library Association fine-free | 13.7 | 42 | A+ |
| Great Barrington | Mason Library fine-free | 12.5 | 51 | A |
| Housatonic | Ramsdell Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 10 | — graded as part of its town |
| West Stockbridge | West Stockbridge Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 28 | A |
| Egremont | Egremont Free Library fine-free | 1.9 | 14 | B |
| Alford | Alford Free Public Library | — | — | — 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Mason 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 Great Barrington
Does Great Barrington have a public library?
Yes. Mason Library, 231 Main St., serves Great Barrington’s 7,214 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mason 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 Great Barrington’s library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 12.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Great Barrington’s civic life grade?
A Great Barrington is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 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 Great Barrington.
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.