Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Wendell’s library lends 21 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Wendell Free Library serves Wendell’s 921 residents. Last year it lent 20K print books and media and logged 8,463 visits.
The short version on Wendell’s library
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Wendell Free Library ran 380 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 413 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 4,095 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Wendell uses its library more than almost any town its size
Wendell Free Library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 21 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Wendell out-borrows every town next door
At 21 loans per resident, Wendell leads the five towns here. The closest is Erving, at 14. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 60 items per child in Wendell last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Wendell Free Library serves 921 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
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 Wendell’s civic life grade
Wendell 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 →
About 2 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 Wendell 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.
Wendell Free Library serves 921 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.
Books and media off the shelf
20K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Wendell Free Library, 7 Wendell Depot Rd, Wendell.
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 Wendell? 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 $4.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wendell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $85K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $357K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $85K 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 666 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wendell borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell | Wendell Free Library fine-free | 21.4 | 21 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Erving | Erving Public Library fine-free | 13.7 | 33 | B+ |
| New Salem | New Salem Public Library fine-free | 11.1 | 20 | A |
| Montague | Montague Public Libraries fine-free | 9.9 | 75 | A− |
| Orange | Wheeler Memorial Library fine-free | 3.3 | 44 | 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 Wendell
Does Wendell have a public library?
Yes. Wendell Free Library, 7 Wendell Depot Rd, serves Wendell’s 921 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wendell Free 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 Wendell’s library?
It logged 9.2 visits and lent 21.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wendell’s civic life grade?
Wendell 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 Wendell.
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.