Mission House · Photo: Daderot at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Stockbridge’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Stockbridge Library Association serves Stockbridge’s 1,998 residents. Last year it lent 27K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Stockbridge’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
55% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 39%. What your card is worth ↓
Stockbridge uses its library more than almost any town its size
Stockbridge Library Association logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
2,137 cards for 1,998 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 ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Stockbridge Library Association ran 460 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 230 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 7,045 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Stockbridge out-borrows every town next door
At 13.7 loans per resident, Stockbridge leads the six towns here. The closest is Lenox, at 12.8. 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 Stockbridge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Stockbridge is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Stockbridge’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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Stockbridge
13.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.0%
11.0% of Stockbridge’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 Stockbridge’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Stockbridge last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Stockbridge Library Association serves 1,998 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
27K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Stockbridge Library Association, 46 Main Street, Stockbridge.
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 Stockbridge? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stockbridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $592K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $497K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $592K 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 2,137 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Stockbridge borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stockbridge | Stockbridge Library Association fine-free | 13.7 | 42 | A+ |
| Lenox | Lenox Library fine-free | 12.8 | 40 | A |
| Housatonic | Ramsdell Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 10 | — graded as part of its town |
| Great Barrington | Mason Library fine-free | 12.5 | 51 | A |
| West Stockbridge | West Stockbridge Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 28 | A |
| Lee | Lee Library Association fine-free | 6.5 | 43 | B |
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 Stockbridge
Does Stockbridge have a public library?
Yes. Stockbridge Library Association, 46 Main Street, serves Stockbridge’s 1,998 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stockbridge Library Association 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 Stockbridge’s library?
It logged 12.2 visits and lent 13.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Stockbridge’s civic life grade?
A+ Stockbridge 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 Stockbridge.
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.