Photo: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0Shelburne’s library lends 25 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Arms Library serves Shelburne’s 943 residents. Last year it lent 24K print books and media and logged 10K visits.
What Shelburne’s library is like
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 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 out-borrows every town next door
At 25.1 loans per resident, Shelburne leads the seven towns here. The closest is Shelburne Falls, 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’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shelburne is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Shelburne is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Shelburne near the top nationally; Shelburne’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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Shelburne
12.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
16.4%
16.4% of Shelburne’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 Shelburne’s residents live; 2022.
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
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Shelburne last year.
2 places to borrow in Shelburne
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? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Shelburne
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 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 borrows the most per resident of the 7 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | Arms Library fine-free | 25.1 | 25 | A+ |
| Shelburne Falls | Arms Library fine-free | 25.1 | 25 | — graded as part of its town |
| Greenfield | Greenfield Public Library fine-free | 10.7 | 46 | A+ |
| Deerfield | Tilton Library fine-free | 7.4 | 29 | A− |
| Conway | Field Memorial Library fine-free | 7.1 | 11 | 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
Does Shelburne have a public library?
Yes. Arms Library, 60 Bridge St., serves Shelburne’s 943 residents (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’s 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’s civic life grade?
A+ Shelburne is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Shelburne.
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.