North Branch Library
Dartmouth Public Libraries serves 33,406 people in and around Smith Mills. Last year it lent 213K books, movies and e-books and logged 137K visits.
Smith Mills’s library, in brief
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 Smith Mills
The library’s service area covers 33,406 people in and around Smith Mills, 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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
library systems for visits per resident.
Dartmouth Public Libraries serves 33,406 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Books and media off the shelf
213K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 125K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
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 Smith Mills cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
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.
Find it
North Branch Library, 211 Cross Road, Dartmouth.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Smith Mills? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Smith Mills borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Mills | North Branch Library | 6.4 | 41 |
| Dartmouth | Dartmouth Public Libraries | 6.4 | 97 |
| New Bedford | New Bedford Free Public Library | 1.7 | — |
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 Smith Mills.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.