Photo: Putneypics · CC BY 2.0Westminster’s library runs 2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Butterfield serves 991 people in and around Westminster. Last year it lent 3,525 books, movies and e-books and drew 50 people to its programs.
Westminster’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Butterfield offered 2 programs last year, 2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Butterfield keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Walpole Town Library in Walpole, next door, is open about 36 hours a week. The building ↓
A small-town library
Butterfield serves 991 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 ↓
Butterfield serves more than Westminster
The library’s service area covers 991 people in and around Westminster, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 62% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Westminster’s civic life grade
Westminster 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Butterfield serves 991 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits, books & media on the shelves, library cards and funding. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
40% of borrowing is digital
3,525 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,422 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Butterfield, 3534 Us Rte. 5, Westminster.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Westminster? 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 $2.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westminster resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $56K 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 991 people it serves ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walpole | Walpole Town Library fine-free | 8.7 | 36 | B+ |
| Westminster | Butterfield fine-free | 3.6 | 17 | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Butterfield didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves, library cards and funding. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Westminster
Does Westminster have a public library?
Yes. Butterfield, 3534 Us Rte. 5, serves 991 people in and around Westminster (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Butterfield 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 Westminster’s library?
It lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 2 programs that drew 50 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Westminster’s civic life grade?
Westminster 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 Westminster.
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.