Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Westhampton’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Westhampton Public Library serves Westhampton’s 1,620 residents. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 9,360 visits.
The short version on Westhampton’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Westhampton Public Library ran 381 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 235 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Westhampton Public Library serves 1,620 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 29 hours a week. 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 ↓
Westhampton is a town of borrowers
Westhampton Public Library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 35 items per child in Westhampton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 381 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 121 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Westhampton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Westhampton is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Westhampton
5.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.1%
16.1% of Westhampton’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 Westhampton’s residents live; 2022.
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 Westhampton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Westhampton Public Library serves 1,620 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
22K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 22K 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
Westhampton Public Library, 1 North Road, Westhampton.
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 Westhampton? 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 $2.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westhampton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $124K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $360K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $124K 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 816 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westhampton | Westhampton Public Library fine-free | 13.5 | 29 | A |
| Southampton | Edwards Public Library fine-free | 7.6 | 37 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Westhampton Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Westhampton
Does Westhampton have a public library?
Yes. Westhampton Public Library, 1 North Road, serves Westhampton’s 1,620 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Westhampton Public 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 Westhampton’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 13.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Westhampton’s civic life grade?
A Westhampton is ahead of 94% 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 Westhampton.
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.