Photo: Daderot · CC BY-SA 3.0Sheffield’s library runs 158 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Bushnell-Sage Library serves Sheffield’s 3,329 residents. Last year it lent 41K print books and media and logged 28K visits.
What Sheffield’s library is like
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Bushnell-Sage Library ran 527 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 158 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,324 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Sheffield uses its library more than almost any town its size
Bushnell-Sage Library logs 8.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 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 ↓
Sheffield out-borrows every town next door
At 12.2 loans per resident, Sheffield leads the five towns here. The closest is Salisbury, at 11.8. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 36% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 33 items per child in Sheffield last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 527 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 115 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 Sheffield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sheffield is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #27 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Sheffield’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Sheffield
9.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Sheffield’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 Sheffield’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Sheffield last year.
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.
Bushnell-Sage Library serves 3,329 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
41K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 44K 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
Bushnell-Sage Library, 48 Main St., Sheffield.
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 Sheffield? 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 $2.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sheffield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $272K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $682K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $272K 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 1,857 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sheffield borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield | Bushnell-Sage Library fine-free | 12.2 | 38 | A |
| Salisbury | Scoville Memorial Library fine-free | 11.8 | 39 | A+ |
| New Marlborough | New Marlborough Town Library fine-free | 11.8 | 37 | A+ |
| Mount Washington | Mount Washington Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Egremont | Egremont Free Library fine-free | 1.9 | 14 | 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 Sheffield
Does Sheffield have a public library?
Yes. Bushnell-Sage Library, 48 Main St., serves Sheffield’s 3,329 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bushnell-Sage 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 Sheffield’s library?
It logged 8.5 visits and lent 12.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sheffield’s civic life grade?
A Sheffield is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 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 Sheffield.
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.