Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Holyoke’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Holyoke Public Library serves Holyoke’s 37,720 residents. Last year it lent 47K print books and media and logged 58K visits.
What Holyoke’s library is like
Every town next door borrows more
Holyoke’s library lends 1.2 items per resident. Each of the six neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by South Hadley at 7.8. Libraries next door ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
29% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 60%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 429 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Holyoke’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Holyoke is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #217 of 283 in Massachusetts. Holyoke’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$67K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
143 community nonprofits are registered in Holyoke
3.8 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 (37 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.
7.5%
7.5% of Holyoke’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 Holyoke’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Holyoke Public Library serves 37,720 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
47K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Holyoke last year.
Find it
Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut St., Holyoke.
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 Holyoke? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Holyoke cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $759K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 16,275 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Holyoke ranks 7th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hadley | South Hadley Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 66 | A− |
| Southampton | Edwards Public Library fine-free | 7.6 | 37 | B− |
| Easthampton | Easthampton Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 51 | C− |
| West Springfield Town | West Springfield Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 54 | C− |
| Chicopee | Chicopee Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 100 | D |
| Westfield | Westfield Athenaeum fine-free | 3.6 | 57 | C− |
| Holyoke | Holyoke Public Library fine-free | 1.2 | 51 | 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 Holyoke
Does Holyoke have a public library?
Yes. Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut St., serves Holyoke’s 37,720 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Holyoke 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 Holyoke’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Holyoke’s civic life grade?
C Holyoke is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #217 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 Holyoke.
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.