Photo: Zinetv1 · CC BY-SA 3.0New Marlborough’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
New Marlborough Town Library serves New Marlborough’s 1,510 residents. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 9,802 visits.
The short version on New Marlborough’s library
A small-town library
New Marlborough Town Library serves 1,510 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 37 hours a week. 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 ↓
New Marlborough is a town of borrowers
New Marlborough Town Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 31 items per child in New Marlborough last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
80% of the 248 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 47 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 New Marlborough’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, New Marlborough is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. New Marlborough is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; New Marlborough’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in New Marlborough
13.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
Books and media off the shelf
18K 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 1 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.
New Marlborough Town Library serves 1,510 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
248 programs a year
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 New Marlborough last year.
Find it
New Marlborough Town Library, 1 Mill River -Great Barrington Road, Mill River.
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 New Marlborough? 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 $1.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Marlborough cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $160K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $292K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $160K 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 800 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New Marlborough ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey | Monterey Library fine-free | 13.8 | 31 | A+ |
| Sheffield | Bushnell-Sage Library fine-free | 12.2 | 38 | A |
| New Marlborough | New Marlborough Town Library fine-free | 11.8 | 37 | A+ |
| Sandisfield | Sandisfield Public Library fine-free | 0.8 | 15 | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. New Marlborough Town Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 New Marlborough
Does New Marlborough have a public library?
Yes. New Marlborough Town Library, 1 Mill River -Great Barrington Road, serves New Marlborough’s 1,510 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Marlborough Town 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 New Marlborough’s library?
It logged 6.5 visits and lent 11.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is New Marlborough’s civic life grade?
A+ New Marlborough is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 New Marlborough.
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.