Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Northfield’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Dickinson Memorial Library serves Northfield’s 2,872 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 44K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
Northfield’s library, in brief
Northfield uses its library more than almost any town its size
Northfield’s library system logs 8.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for borrowing
Northfield ranks #17 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 15 items per resident, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 35% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 37 items per child in Northfield last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
5,387 people came to the library’s 215 programs last year: 1.9 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
65% of the 215 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 53 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 Northfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Northfield is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #31 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Northfield
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.6%
13.6% of Northfield’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 Northfield’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
44K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Dickinson Memorial Library serves 2,872 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Northfield last year.
2 places to borrow in Northfield
Dickinson Memorial Library, 115 Main Street, Northfield.
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 Northfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Northfield
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $253K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $736K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $253K 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 2,149 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Northfield borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. 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.
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 Northfield
Does Northfield have a public library?
Yes. Dickinson Memorial Library, 115 Main Street, serves Northfield’s 2,872 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dickinson Memorial 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 Northfield’s library?
It logged 8.4 visits and lent 15.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Northfield’s civic life grade?
A Northfield is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 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 Northfield.
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.