Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainNelson’s library runs 211 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Nelson Public Library serves Nelson’s 459 residents. Last year it lent 3,050 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,488 visits.
The short version on Nelson’s library
Most of Nelson’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 66% of loans, more per resident than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 34%. What people borrow ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Nelson Public Library keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Nelson Public Library serves 459 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 Nelson’s civic life grade
Nelson 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 →
66% of borrowing is digital
3,050 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,503 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
2,003 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Nelson Public Library serves 459 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
97 programs a year
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.
Find it
Nelson Public Library, 73 East 4th St., Nelson.
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 Nelson? 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nelson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $52K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 131 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Nelson Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Nelson
Does Nelson have a public library?
Yes. Nelson Public Library, 73 East 4th St., serves Nelson’s 459 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nelson 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 Nelson’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Nelson’s civic life grade?
Nelson 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 Nelson.
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.