Photo: Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0Beverly’s library is a branch of Elkins-Randolph Public Library, which lends less per resident than 98% of systems its size
Beverly’s library is the Beverly Heritage Library Branch, a branch of Elkins-Randolph Public Library, which serves 13,407 people and lent 21K items last year.
Beverly’s library, in brief
The Elkins-Randolph Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Elkins-Randolph Public Library system records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 76% of loans. Print still makes up 24%. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 115 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Beverly branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
29% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
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; Beverly’s library is a branch of Elkins-Randolph Public Library, so they cover the whole system (13,407 people), not just the Beverly branch.
What’s behind Beverly’s civic life grade
Beverly 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 →
76% of borrowing is digital
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Beverly’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
16,303 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Elkins-Randolph Public Library serves 13,407 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elkins-Randolph Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs 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
Beverly Heritage Library Branch, 4 Court Street, Beverly.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elkins-Randolph Public Library branch.
New in Beverly? 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 $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Beverly cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $351K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 10,159 cardholders ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beverly | Beverly Heritage Library Branch | — | 18 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Elkins | Elkins-Randolph Public Library | — | 44 | A+ |
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.
- System-wide. Beverly Heritage Library Branch is one branch of Elkins-Randolph Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 13,407 people it serves.
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 Beverly
Does Beverly have a public library?
Yes: Beverly Heritage Library Branch, 4 Court Street, is a branch of Elkins-Randolph Public Library, which serves 13,407 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elkins-Randolph Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Beverly’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Beverly’s civic life grade?
Beverly 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 Beverly.
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.