Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Smith Mills’ library logs 4.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Dartmouth Public Libraries serves 33,406 people in and around Smith Mills. Last year it lent 213K print books and media and logged 137K visits.
Smith Mills’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 545 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Dartmouth Public Libraries serves more than Smith Mills
The library’s service area covers 33,406 people in and around Smith Mills, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Smith Mills’ civic life grade
Smith Mills 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Dartmouth Public Libraries serves 33,406 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
213K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 125K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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.
Find it
North Branch Library, 211 Cross Road, Dartmouth.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Smith Mills? 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 $2.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Smith Mills cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 11,333 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Smith Mills borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Mills | North Branch Library | 6.4 | 41 | — graded as part of its town |
| Dartmouth | Dartmouth Public Libraries | 6.4 | 97 | B− |
| New Bedford | New Bedford Free Public Library | 1.7 | — | C− |
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 Smith Mills
Does Smith Mills have a public library?
Yes. Dartmouth Public Libraries, 211 Cross Road, serves 33,406 people in and around Smith Mills (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dartmouth Public Libraries fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Smith Mills’ library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 6.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Smith Mills’ civic life grade?
Smith Mills 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 Smith Mills.
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.