Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Shutesbury’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
M. N. Spear Memorial Library serves Shutesbury’s 1,726 residents. Last year it lent 25K print books and media and logged 5,948 visits.
Shutesbury’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 51%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
M. N. Spear Memorial Library serves 1,726 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 27 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 ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Shutesbury last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
81% of the 276 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 39 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Shutesbury’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shutesbury is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Shutesbury
8.4 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
17.0%
17.0% of Shutesbury’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 Shutesbury’s residents live; 2022.
276 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 Shutesbury last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
M. N. Spear Memorial Library serves 1,726 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.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
25K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
M. N. Spear Memorial Library, 10 Cooleyville Road, Shutesbury.
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 Shutesbury? 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 $3.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shutesbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $134K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $408K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $134K 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 812 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shutesbury ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | Pelham Library fine-free | 19.3 | 25 | B+ |
| Shutesbury | M. N. Spear Memorial Library fine-free | 14.5 | 27 | A |
| New Salem | New Salem Public Library fine-free | 11.1 | 20 | A |
| Amherst Town | Jones Library, Inc. fine-free | 8.8 | 81 | 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 Shutesbury
Does Shutesbury have a public library?
Yes. M. N. Spear Memorial Library, 10 Cooleyville Road, serves Shutesbury’s 1,726 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is M. N. Spear Memorial 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 Shutesbury’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 14.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Shutesbury’s civic life grade?
A Shutesbury is ahead of 91% 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 Shutesbury.
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.