Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0North Adams’ library runs 64 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
North Adams Public Library serves North Adams’s 12,777 residents. Last year it lent 60K print books and media and logged 40K visits.
North Adams’s library, in brief
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
North Adams Public Library ran 819 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 64 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 819 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 152 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.
What’s behind North Adams’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Adams is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #114 of 283 in Massachusetts. North Adams’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in North Adams
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (10 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.
8.8%
8.8% of North Adams’ 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 North Adams’ residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 North Adams last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Adams Public Library serves 12,777 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
60K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 69K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
North Adams Public Library, 74 Church St., North Adams.
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 North Adams? 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 $2.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Adams cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $503K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $503K 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 6,787 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Adams ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown | David & Joyce Milne Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 44 | A+ |
| Clarksburg | Clarksburg Town Library fine-free | 6.2 | 27 | C+ |
| North Adams | North Adams Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 33 | B+ |
| Adams | Adams Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 34 | B− |
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 North Adams
Does North Adams have a public library?
Yes. North Adams Public Library, 74 Church St., serves North Adams’ 12,777 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Adams 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 North Adams’ library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 4.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Adams’ civic life grade?
B+ North Adams is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #114 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 North Adams.
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.