Photo: Swampyank at en.wikipedia · Public domainNorth Smithfield’s library logs 2.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
North Smithfield Public Library serves North Smithfield’s 12,588 residents. Last year it lent 57K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
What stands out about North Smithfield’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind North Smithfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Smithfield is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #27 of 38 in Rhode Island. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($82K–$136K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in North Smithfield
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of North Smithfield’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.4% in the typical Rhode Island 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 North Smithfield’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Smithfield Public Library serves 12,588 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
57K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 53K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
12,754 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 North Smithfield last year.
Find it
North Smithfield Public Library, 20 Main Street, North Smithfield.
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 Smithfield? 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 $1.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Smithfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $491K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $924K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $491K 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 2,975 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Smithfield ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithfield | Greenville Public Library | 10.6 | 59 | C |
| Lincoln | Lincoln Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 59 | C+ |
| Cumberland | Cumberland Public Library fine-free | 8.2 | 57 | C |
| Burrillville | Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library | 6.7 | 55 | C |
| North Smithfield | North Smithfield Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 47 | C |
| Woonsocket | Woonsocket Harris Public Library | 2.0 | 58 | D |
| Cumberland Hill | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 North Smithfield
Does North Smithfield have a public library?
Yes. North Smithfield Public Library, 20 Main Street, serves North Smithfield’s 12,588 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Smithfield 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 North Smithfield’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Smithfield’s civic life grade?
C North Smithfield is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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 North Smithfield.
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.