Photo: Daderot · Public domainWilliamstown’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
David & Joyce Milne Public Library serves Williamstown’s 7,663 residents. Last year it lent 89K print books and media and logged 62K visits.
The short version on Williamstown’s library
Williamstown out-borrows every town next door
At 12 loans per resident, Williamstown leads the four towns here. The closest is Clarksburg, at 6.2. Libraries next door ↓
Williamstown uses its library more than almost any town its size
David & Joyce Milne Public Library logs 8.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
38% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 60%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 25 items per child in Williamstown last year. 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.
What’s behind Williamstown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Williamstown is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #13 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Williamstown
6.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.8%
12.8% of Williamstown’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 Williamstown’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
89K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 68K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
David & Joyce Milne Public Library serves 7,663 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 39 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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 Williamstown last year.
Find it
David & Joyce Milne Public Library, 1095 Main Street, Williamstown.
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 Williamstown? 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 $2.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Williamstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $632K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $632K 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 5,763 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Williamstown borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown | David & Joyce Milne Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 44 | A+ |
| Clarksburg | Clarksburg Town Library fine-free | 6.2 | 27 | C+ |
| North Adams | North Adams Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 33 | B+ |
| Adams | Adams Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 34 | 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 Williamstown
Does Williamstown have a public library?
Yes. David & Joyce Milne Public Library, 1095 Main Street, serves Williamstown’s 7,663 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is David & Joyce Milne 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 Williamstown’s library?
It logged 8.1 visits and lent 11.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Williamstown’s civic life grade?
A+ Williamstown is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 Williamstown.
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.