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Library · Bliss Corner

Dartmouth Public Libraries

Dartmouth Public Libraries serves 33,406 people in and around Bliss Corner. Last year it lent 213K books, movies and e-books and logged 137K visits.

732 Dartmouth Street, Dartmouth 02748 · about 97 hours a week
Borrowed a year
213K
6.4 per resident
Visits a year
137K
4.1 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
545
about 10 a week · 11K attended
Cardholders
34%
11,333 cards
Open
97 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Bliss Corner’s library

Open about 97 hours a week

Dartmouth Public Libraries is open about 97 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out. The building ↓

Programs are almost all for children

84% of the 545 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Dartmouth Public Libraries serves more than Bliss Corner

The library’s service area covers 33,406 people in and around Bliss Corner, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓

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 stands out · The building

Find it

Dartmouth Public Libraries, 732 Dartmouth Street, Dartmouth.

97
hours open a week
22,000
square feet
125K
books & media
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Bliss Corner? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

137K
visits
4.1 per resident
213K
loans, print + digital
6.4 per resident
545
programs & events
11K attended
11K
library cards
34% of people served
Every open hour30items borrowed
Every week207people at a program
Every day46Wi-Fi sessions
14 staff (full-time equivalent)18 public computers125K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Strongest at visits per resident

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 4.1 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 77%
Borrowing per resident 6.4 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 74%
Kids’ borrowing 2.5 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 67%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 51%
Programs offered 16.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 57%
Cardholders 34% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 62%
Spending $44 per resident · typical $40Higher than 54%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Massachusetts
#177 of 364

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Dartmouth Public Libraries serves 33,406 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

213K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

213Kloans
Books & media (adults) 60%Kids’ books & media 40%
How hard the shelves work
1.7×

Each of the 125K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.

From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 9 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Bliss Corner →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5300
Ages 6–11160
Teens4
Adults74
All ages7
Little ones
5.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

85K
kids’ books & media borrowed
11K
people at programs
545
programs
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.30 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bliss Corner cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$44 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.

Local taxes 93%State 6%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 11,333 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Bliss Corner borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
Bliss CornerDartmouth Public Libraries6.497
DartmouthDartmouth Public Libraries6.497
New BedfordNew Bedford Free Public Library1.7—

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.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • 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.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Bliss Corner.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Dartmouth Public Libraries one of the best things about Bliss Corner?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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