Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Montgomery’s library runs 87 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Grace Hall Memorial Library serves Montgomery’s 818 residents. Last year it lent 1,151 print books and media and logged 3,772 visits.
Montgomery’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Grace Hall Memorial Library serves 818 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Grace Hall Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Westfield Athenaeum in Westfield, next door, is open about 57 hours a week. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
85% of the 71 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 7 were for children. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Montgomery’s civic life grade
Montgomery isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
71 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 Montgomery last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Grace Hall Memorial Library serves 818 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,151 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 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card.
Find it
Grace Hall Memorial Library, 161 Main Rd., Montgomery.
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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montgomery cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $31K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $31K 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 412 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Montgomery ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | Edwards Public Library fine-free | 7.6 | 37 | B− |
| Westfield | Westfield Athenaeum fine-free | 3.6 | 57 | C− |
| Huntington | Huntington Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 23 | B |
| Montgomery | Grace Hall Memorial Library fine-free | 1.4 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Russell | Russell Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 22 | 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 Montgomery
Does Montgomery have a public library?
Yes. Grace Hall Memorial Library, 161 Main Rd., serves Montgomery’s 818 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grace Hall Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Montgomery’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 1.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Montgomery’s civic life grade?
Montgomery isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Montgomery.
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.