Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Mount Washington’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Mount Washington Public Library serves Mount Washington’s 157 residents. Last year it lent 451 print books and media and drew 20 people to its programs.
Mount Washington’s library, in brief
Massachusetts pays a big share
64% of the budget comes from the state, and 36% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 10 hours a week
Mount Washington Public Library keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Scoville Memorial Library in Salisbury, next door, is open about 39 hours a week. The building ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Mount Washington Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Mount Washington Public Library serves 157 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 ↓
A place to get online
Mount Washington Public Library logs about 2 Wi-Fi sessions a day. That’s 4.6 sessions per resident a year. 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 Mount Washington’s civic life grade
Mount Washington 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Mount Washington Public Library serves 157 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Mount Washington Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 42 visits against 451 loans, so we leave the count out.
Books and media off the shelf
451 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 2,293 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
2 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Mount Washington Public Library, Town Hall 118 East Street, Mount Washington.
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 $4.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $2,000.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9,612 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2,000 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 38 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Mount Washington ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Mount Washington
Does Mount Washington have a public library?
Yes. Mount Washington Public Library, Town Hall 118 East Street, serves Mount Washington’s 157 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mount Washington Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mount Washington’s library?
It lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 2 programs that drew 20 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Mount Washington’s civic life grade?
Mount Washington 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 Mount Washington.
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.