Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Springfield’s library runs 32 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Springfield City Library serves Springfield’s 154,064 residents from 9 locations. Last year it lent 262K print books and media and logged 367K visits.
Springfield’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Springfield City Library ran 4,904 programs last year, about 94 a week. That’s 32 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Springfield’s library lends 1.7 items per resident. Each of the six neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by East Longmeadow at 10. Libraries next door ↓
Nine places to borrow in Springfield
Springfield City Library runs nine locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Springfield City Library holds 497,000 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 Springfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Springfield is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #271 of 283 in Massachusetts. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #258. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$66K) 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 →
430 community nonprofits are registered in Springfield
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (204 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 21 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.1%
4.1% of Springfield’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 Springfield’s residents live; 2022.
About 41 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 Springfield last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Springfield City Library serves 154,064 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Springfield City Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
262K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 497K 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.
9 places to borrow in Springfield
Springfield City Library, 220 State St., Springfield.
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 Springfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Springfield
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Springfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.5M 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 56,386 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Springfield ranks 7th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Longmeadow | East Longmeadow Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 50 | B+ |
| Longmeadow | Richard Salter Storrs Library fine-free | 9.3 | 56 | A |
| Agawam Town | Agawam Public Library fine-free | 5.0 | 59 | C |
| West Springfield Town | West Springfield Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 54 | C− |
| Chicopee | Chicopee Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 100 | D |
| Ludlow | Hubbard Memorial Library fine-free | 3.3 | 40 | C− |
| Springfield | Springfield City Library fine-free | 1.7 | — | D |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Springfield
Does Springfield have a public library?
Yes. Springfield City Library, 220 State St., serves Springfield’s 154,064 residents (the survey’s count).
Is Springfield City 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 Springfield’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Springfield’s civic life grade?
D Springfield is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #271 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 Springfield.
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.