Photo: The original uploader was ColWilliam at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5New Salem’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
New Salem Public Library serves New Salem’s 1,008 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 4,364 visits.
The short version on New Salem’s library
A small-town library
New Salem Public Library serves 1,008 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
New Salem Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Athol Public Library in Athol, next door, is open about 46 hours a week. The building ↓
New Salem is a town of borrowers
New Salem Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 119 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 36 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
New Salem invests in its library
New Salem Public Library spends $125 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Salem’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, New Salem is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. New Salem is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; New Salem’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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in New Salem
7.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (0 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.
Books and media off the shelf
11K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 15K 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.
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 Salem Public Library serves 1,008 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
119 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 Salem last year.
Find it
New Salem Public Library, 23 South Main Street, New Salem.
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 Salem? 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 $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Salem cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $125K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $184K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $125K 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 537 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New Salem ranks 4th of 9 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell | Wendell Free Library fine-free | 21.4 | 21 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Pelham | Pelham Library fine-free | 19.3 | 25 | B+ |
| Shutesbury | M. N. Spear Memorial Library fine-free | 14.5 | 27 | A |
| New Salem | New Salem Public Library fine-free | 11.1 | 20 | A |
| Athol | Athol Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 46 | B− |
| Petersham | Petersham Memorial Library fine-free | 6.1 | 19 | A |
| Belchertown | Clapp Memorial Library fine-free | 5.5 | 44 | A− |
| Orange | Wheeler Memorial Library fine-free | 3.3 | 44 | C |
| Ware | Young Men's Library Association fine-free | 2.7 | 32 | 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 New Salem
Does New Salem have a public library?
Yes. New Salem Public Library, 23 South Main Street, serves New Salem’s 1,008 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Salem 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 New Salem’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 11.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is New Salem’s civic life grade?
A New Salem is ahead of 86% 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 Salem.
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.