Finch Memorial Library · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Arnold’s library runs 179 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Finch Memorial Library serves Arnold’s 591 residents. Last year it lent 2,057 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,116 visits.
What Arnold’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 106 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Finch Memorial Library serves 591 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 27 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 ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Finch Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2015. Today’s library there has 3,520 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 59% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 64% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Arnold’s civic life grade
Arnold 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 Arnold last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Finch Memorial Library serves 591 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,057 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 2015
Finch Memorial Library, 205 North Walnut, Arnold.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Finch Memorial Library
Finch Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 1, 2015. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Arnold cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $32K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $32K 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 295 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Arnold
Does Arnold have a public library?
Yes. Finch Memorial Library, 205 North Walnut, serves Arnold’s 591 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Finch Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Arnold’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Arnold’s civic life grade?
Arnold 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 Arnold.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.