Hyden House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Alcester’s library logs 9.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Alcester Public Library serves 2,437 people in and around Alcester. Last year it lent 7,631 books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
Alcester’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 88% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 21%. The building also logs about 17 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 85 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 17 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans. Print still makes up 57%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Alcester Public Library serves 2,437 people in and around Alcester, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Alcester’s civic life grade
Alcester 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alcester Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Alcester Public Library serves 2,437 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
43% of borrowing is digital
7,631 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,258 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, across the whole system, 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
Alcester Public Library, 409 E 6th Street, Alcester.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Alcester Public Library branch.
New in Alcester? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alcester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $135K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $143K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $135K 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 1,133 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Alcester Public Library serves 2,437 people in and around Alcester, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Alcester.
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 Alcester
Does Alcester have a public library?
Yes. Alcester Public Library, 409 E 6th Street, serves 2,437 people in and around Alcester (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alcester 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 Alcester’s library?
It logged 9.5 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Alcester’s civic life grade?
Alcester 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 Alcester.
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.