Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Longmeadow’s library runs 73 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Richard Salter Storrs Library serves Longmeadow’s 15,632 residents. Last year it lent 145K print books and media and logged 88K visits.
What Longmeadow’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Richard Salter Storrs Library ran 1,147 programs last year, about 22 a week. That’s 73 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 19,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Longmeadow last year. Kids & programs ↓
Longmeadow is a town of borrowers
Richard Salter Storrs Library lends 9.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 88% 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 Longmeadow’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Longmeadow is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #42 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 →
77 community nonprofits are registered in Longmeadow
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (9 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.
11.8%
11.8% of Longmeadow’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 Longmeadow’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 Longmeadow last year.
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.
Richard Salter Storrs Library serves 15,632 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
145K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 74K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Richard Salter Storrs Library, 693 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow.
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 Longmeadow? 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 $2.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Longmeadow cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M 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 8,704 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Longmeadow ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Longmeadow | East Longmeadow Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 50 | B+ |
| Longmeadow | Richard Salter Storrs Library fine-free | 9.3 | 56 | A |
| Suffield | Kent Memorial Library | 6.3 | 52 | B+ |
| Agawam Town | Agawam Public Library fine-free | 5.0 | 59 | C |
| Enfield | Enfield Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 60 | C− |
| Springfield | Springfield City Library fine-free | 1.7 | — | 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 Longmeadow
Does Longmeadow have a public library?
Yes. Richard Salter Storrs Library, 693 Longmeadow St., serves Longmeadow’s 15,632 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richard Salter Storrs 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 Longmeadow’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 9.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Longmeadow’s civic life grade?
A Longmeadow is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #42 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 Longmeadow.
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.