Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0North Walpole’s library runs 128 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Walpole Town Library serves 3,659 people in and around North Walpole. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
The short version on North Walpole’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Walpole Town Library ran 470 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 128 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
Walpole Town Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Walpole Town Library serves more than North Walpole
The library’s service area covers 3,659 people in and around North Walpole, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 North Walpole’s civic life grade
North Walpole 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 5 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Walpole Town Library serves 3,659 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
10,569 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
North Walpole Branch Library, 70 Church Street, North Walpole.
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 North Walpole? 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 $2.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Walpole cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $229K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $535K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $229K 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 1,175 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 North Walpole
Does North Walpole have a public library?
Yes. Walpole Town Library, 70 Church Street, serves 3,659 people in and around North Walpole (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Walpole Town 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 North Walpole’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 8.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is North Walpole’s civic life grade?
North Walpole 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 North Walpole.
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.