Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Greenfield’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Greenfield Public Library serves Greenfield’s 17,656 residents. Last year it lent 188K print books and media and logged 120K visits.
What Greenfield’s library is like
Greenfield uses its library more than almost any town its size
Greenfield Public Library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 30,000 items on the shelves went out about 6.2 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Nearly everyone in Greenfield has a card
14,939 cards for 17,656 people, or 85%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. 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 Greenfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Greenfield is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #17 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 →
119 community nonprofits are registered in Greenfield
6.7 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 (19 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.
13.2%
13.2% of Greenfield’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 Greenfield’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
188K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 6.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Greenfield Public Library serves 17,656 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 79 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 5 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 Greenfield last year.
Find it
Greenfield Public Library, 412 Main St., Greenfield.
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 Greenfield? 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 $2.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Greenfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 14,939 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Greenfield ranks 2nd of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | Arms Library fine-free | 25.1 | 25 | A+ |
| Greenfield | Greenfield Public Library fine-free | 10.7 | 46 | A+ |
| Montague | Montague Public Libraries fine-free | 9.9 | 75 | A− |
| Turners Falls | Montague Public Libraries fine-free | 9.9 | 75 | — graded as part of its town |
| Deerfield | Tilton Library fine-free | 7.4 | 29 | A− |
| Leyden | Robertson Memorial Library fine-free | 6.5 | 12 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bernardston | Cushman Library fine-free | 2.8 | 18 | C+ |
| Gill | Slate Memorial Library fine-free | 1.2 | 18 | D− |
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 Greenfield
Does Greenfield have a public library?
Yes. Greenfield Public Library, 412 Main St., serves Greenfield’s 17,656 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greenfield 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 Greenfield’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 10.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Greenfield’s civic life grade?
A+ Greenfield is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 Greenfield.
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.