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Library · Richmond

Richmond Free Public Library

Richmond Free Public Library serves Richmond’s 1,402 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,632 visits.

1751 State Road, Richmond 01254 · about 30 hours a week
Photo: Croosadabilia croosadabilia
Borrowed a year
12K
8.9 per resident
Visits a year
8,632
6.2 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
95
about 2 a week · 851 attended
Cardholders
40%
560 cards
Open
30 hrs
a week

What stands out about Richmond Free Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

12Kloans
Books & media (adults) 70%Kids’ books & media 30%E-books, audio & streaming 0%
How hard the shelves work
0.8×

Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.

From your couch

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

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.54 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Richmond 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
$56 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $79K.

Local taxes 85%State 5%Gifts & other 10%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $201K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $79K 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 560 cardholders ÷ 12.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

8,632
visits
6.2 per resident
12K
loans, print + digital
8.9 per resident
95
programs & events
851 attended
560
library cards
40% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week16people at a program
Every day0Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)2 public computers16K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Strongest at visits per resident

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 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 6.2 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 76%
Borrowing per resident 8.9 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 83%
Kids’ borrowing 2.7 kids’ items · typical 1.4Higher than 72%
Program attendance 0.6 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 54%
Programs offered 67.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 55%
Cardholders 40% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 66%
Spending $56 per resident · typical $54Higher than 54%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Massachusetts
#101 of 364

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Richmond Free Public Library serves 1,402 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

Kids & programs

95 programs a year

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

Schools in Richmond →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–537
Ages 6–116
Teens0
Adults51
All ages1
Little ones
0.7

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

Kids’ books
22

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Richmond last year.

851
people at programs
95
programs
The building

Find it

Richmond Free Public Library, 1751 State Road, Richmond.

30
hours open a week
2,869
square feet
16K
books & media
With a card

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 Richmond? The Handbook →

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

Next door

Libraries next door

Richmond ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
LenoxLenox Library fine-free12.840
RichmondRichmond Free Public Library fine-free8.930
HancockTaylor Memorial Library1.113

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 Richmond.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Richmond Free Public Library one of the best things about Richmond?

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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