Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Northampton’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Forbes Library serves Northampton’s 23,462 residents. Last year it lent 344K print books and media and logged 199K visits.
The short version on Northampton’s library
Northampton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Forbes Library logs 8.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
24,190 cards for 23,462 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Northampton out-borrows every town next door
At 15 loans per resident, Northampton leads the four towns here. The closest is Hadley, at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 37% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 26 items per child in Northampton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 72%. 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.
What’s behind Northampton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Northampton is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 283 in Massachusetts. Northampton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
230 community nonprofits are registered in Northampton
7.4 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 (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
19.0%
19.0% of Northampton’s 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 Northampton’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
344K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 166K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times 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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Forbes Library serves 23,462 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 124 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 6 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 Northampton last year.
2 places to borrow in Northampton
Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton.
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 Northampton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Northampton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northampton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 24,190 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Northampton borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton | Forbes Library fine-free | 14.7 | 53 | A+ |
| Hadley | Hadley Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 34 | A |
| Hatfield | Hatfield Public Library fine-free | 8.3 | 29 | A− |
| Easthampton | Easthampton Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 51 | 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 Northampton
Does Northampton have a public library?
Yes. Forbes Library, 20 West St., serves Northampton’s 23,462 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Forbes 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 Northampton’s library?
It logged 8.5 visits and lent 14.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Northampton’s civic life grade?
A+ Northampton is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Northampton.
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.