Photo: en:User:LymanSchool (Richard B. Johnson) · CC BY-SA 3.0Hardwick’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Gilbertville Public Library serves Hardwick’s 771 residents. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 8,375 visits.
What Hardwick’s library is like
More library cards than residents
1,466 cards for 771 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 ↓
Hardwick uses its library more than almost any town its size
Gilbertville Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Hardwick out-borrows every town next door
At 16 loans per resident, Hardwick leads the four towns here. The closest is Petersham, at 6.1. Libraries next door ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
Gilbertville Public Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Young Men's Library Association in Ware, next door, is open about 32 hours a week. The buildings ↓
A small-town library
Gilbertville Public Library serves 771 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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 Hardwick’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hardwick is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #169 of 283 in Massachusetts. Hardwick is graded on two of the three inputs. Hardwick’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Hardwick
4.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.1%
6.1% of Hardwick’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 Hardwick’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
12K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time 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 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Gilbertville Public Library serves 771 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
48 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Hardwick last year.
2 places to borrow in Hardwick
Gilbertville Public Library, 259 Main St., Gilbertville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hardwick? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hardwick
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $5.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hardwick cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $37K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $206K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $37K 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 1,466 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hardwick borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwick | Gilbertville Public Library fine-free | 15.7 | 15 | B− |
| Petersham | Petersham Memorial Library fine-free | 6.1 | 19 | A |
| New Braintree | L. Pollard Memorial Library fine-free | 4.1 | 14 | B |
| Ware | Young Men's Library Association fine-free | 2.7 | 32 | 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 Hardwick
Does Hardwick have a public library?
Yes. Gilbertville Public Library, 259 Main St., serves Hardwick’s 771 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gilbertville 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 Hardwick’s library?
It logged 10.9 visits and lent 15.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hardwick’s civic life grade?
B− Hardwick is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on civic life, #169 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 Hardwick.
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.