Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainSouthbridge Town’s library runs 29 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Jacob Edwards Library serves Southbridge Town’s 17,619 residents. Last year it lent 47K print books and media and logged 58K visits.
Southbridge Town’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Southbridge Town’s library lends 2.7 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Sturbridge at 7.5. Libraries next door ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 509 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Jacob Edwards Library holds 88,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Southbridge Town’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Southbridge Town is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #264 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Southbridge Town
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.8%
3.8% of Southbridge Town’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 Southbridge Town’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jacob Edwards Library serves 17,619 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
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
47K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 88K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 Southbridge Town last year.
Find it
Jacob Edwards Library, 236 Main St., Southbridge.
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 Southbridge Town? 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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Southbridge Town cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $744K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $889K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $744K 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 9,358 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Southbridge Town ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sturbridge | Joshua Hyde Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 50 | B+ |
| Charlton | Charlton Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 46 | B |
| Dudley | Pearle L. Crawford Memorial Library fine-free | 3.6 | 42 | C |
| Southbridge Town | Jacob Edwards Library fine-free | 2.7 | 46 | 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 Southbridge Town
Does Southbridge Town have a public library?
Yes. Jacob Edwards Library, 236 Main St., serves Southbridge Town’s 17,619 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jacob Edwards 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 Southbridge Town’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 2.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Southbridge Town’s civic life grade?
C− Southbridge Town is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #264 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 Southbridge Town.
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.