Hall Memorial Library · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Northfield’s library runs 49 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hall Memorial Library serves Northfield’s 8,957 residents. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
Northfield’s library, in brief
The library is a National Register landmark
Hall Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Today’s library there has 7,200 square feet. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 439 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 76 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.
What’s behind Northfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Northfield is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #29 of 126 in New Hampshire. Northfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Northfield’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Northfield
6.4 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Northfield’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical New Hampshire 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 Northfield’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1978
Hall Memorial Library, 18 Park Street, Northfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Northfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hall Memorial Library
Hall Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 4, 1978. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque.
The Hall Memorial Library is the public library of Tilton and Northfield, New Hampshire. It is located at 18 Park Street in Northfield, in an 1887 Richardsonian Romanesque building. The building, one of the most architecturally distinguished in the region, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hall Memorial Library serves 8,957 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
9,079 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Northfield last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $328K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $544K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $328K 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 5,030 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Northfield ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury | Elkins Library fine-free | 8.4 | 41 | A− |
| Belmont | Belmont Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 32 | C− |
| Northfield | Hall Memorial Library fine-free | 3.9 | 47 | A− |
| Tilton Northfield | Hall Memorial Library fine-free | 3.9 | 47 | — graded as part of its town |
| Boscawen | Boscawen Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 35 | C− |
| Franklin | Franklin Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 61 | B |
| Tilton | None of its own | — | — | C |
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.
- 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 Northfield
Does Northfield have a public library?
Yes. Hall Memorial Library, 18 Park Street, serves Northfield’s 8,957 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hall Memorial 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 Northfield’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Northfield’s civic life grade?
A− Northfield is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #29 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Northfield.
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.