Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Palmer Town’s library lends 6.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Palmer Public Library serves Palmer Town’s 12,337 residents. Last year it lent 80K print books and media and logged 58K visits.
Palmer Town’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
77% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 22%. What your card is worth ↓
More library cards than residents
13,434 cards for 12,337 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 ↓
Palmer Town out-borrows every town next door
At 6.5 loans per resident, Palmer Town leads the six towns here. The closest is Belchertown, at 5.5. Libraries next door ↓
Palmer Town invests in its library
Palmer Public Library spends $114 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Palmer Town’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Palmer Town is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #191 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($59K–$98K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
39 community nonprofits are registered in Palmer Town
3.2 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of Palmer Town’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 Palmer Town’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Palmer Public Library serves 12,337 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
80K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Palmer Town last year.
Find it
Palmer Public Library, 1455 North Main St., Palmer.
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 Palmer Town? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palmer Town cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 13,434 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Palmer Town borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Town | Palmer Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 42 | C+ |
| Belchertown | Clapp Memorial Library fine-free | 5.5 | 44 | A− |
| Monson | Monson Free Library & Reading Room fine-free | 3.6 | 37 | B− |
| Warren | Warren Public Library | 3.6 | 23 | B+ |
| Brimfield | Brimfield Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 26 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Palmer Public 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 Palmer Town
Does Palmer Town have a public library?
Yes. Palmer Public Library, 1455 North Main St., serves Palmer Town’s 12,337 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Palmer 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 Palmer Town’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 6.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Palmer Town’s civic life grade?
C+ Palmer Town is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #191 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 Palmer Town.
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.