Photo: Em8310 · CC BY-SA 4.0Sandisfield’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Sandisfield Public Library serves Sandisfield’s 982 residents. Last year it lent 800 print books and media and logged 341 visits.
Sandisfield’s library, in brief
Sandisfield Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Sandisfield Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $28 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Sandisfield’s library lends 0.8 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Monterey at 14. Libraries next door ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
Sandisfield Public Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. New Marlborough Town Library in New Marlborough, next door, is open about 37 hours a week. The building ↓
A small-town library
Sandisfield Public Library serves 982 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 ↓
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 Sandisfield’s civic life grade
Sandisfield isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sandisfield Public Library serves 982 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
800 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 4,237 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
15 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 Sandisfield last year.
Find it
Sandisfield Public Library, 23 Sandisfield Road, Sandisfield.
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 Sandisfield? 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 Sandisfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 224 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sandisfield ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey | Monterey Library fine-free | 13.8 | 31 | A+ |
| New Marlborough | New Marlborough Town Library fine-free | 11.8 | 37 | A+ |
| Otis | Otis Library and Museum fine-free | 5.7 | 27 | B+ |
| Tolland | Tolland Public Library fine-free | 1.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sandisfield | Sandisfield Public Library fine-free | 0.8 | 15 | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Sandisfield 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 Sandisfield
Does Sandisfield have a public library?
Yes. Sandisfield Public Library, 23 Sandisfield Road, serves Sandisfield’s 982 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sandisfield 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 Sandisfield’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 0.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sandisfield’s civic life grade?
Sandisfield isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Sandisfield.
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.