Photo: Marty Aligata · CC BY-SA 4.0Shelburne Falls’ library lends 25 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Arms Library serves 943 people in and around Shelburne Falls. Last year it lent 24K print books and media and logged 10K visits.
The short version on Shelburne Falls’s library
More library cards than residents
1,234 cards for 943 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
60% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 37%. What your card is worth ↓
Shelburne Falls uses its library more than almost any town its size
Arms Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 25 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Arms Library serves 943 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. 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 ↓
Shelburne Falls out-borrows every town next door
At 25.1 loans per resident, Shelburne Falls leads the four towns here. The closest is Shelburne, at 25.1. Libraries next door ↓
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 Shelburne Falls’ civic life grade
Shelburne Falls 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
24K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time 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 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Arms Library serves 943 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
40 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Arms Library, 60 Bridge St., Shelburne Falls.
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 Shelburne Falls? 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 $3.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelburne Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $105K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $397K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $105K 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 1,234 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shelburne Falls 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne Falls | Arms Library fine-free | 25.1 | 25 | — graded as part of its town |
| Shelburne | Arms Library fine-free | 25.1 | 25 | A+ |
| Buckland | Buckland Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 14 | A+ |
| Charlemont | Tyler Memorial Library fine-free | 1.5 | 12 | A+ |
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 Shelburne Falls
Does Shelburne Falls have a public library?
Yes. Arms Library, 60 Bridge St., serves 943 people in and around Shelburne Falls (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Arms 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 Shelburne Falls’ library?
It logged 11.1 visits and lent 25.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Shelburne Falls’ civic life grade?
Shelburne Falls 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 Shelburne Falls.
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.