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Library · South Deerfield

Tilton Library

Tilton Library serves 5,162 people in and around South Deerfield. Last year it lent 38K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.

75 North Main Street, Deerfield 01373 · about 29 hours a week
Photo: Tom Walsh
Borrowed a year
38K
7.4 per resident
Visits a year
29K
5.6 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
267
about 5 a week · 1,854 attended
Cardholders
43%
2,203 cards
Open
29 hrs
a week

What stands out about Tilton 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

38K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

38Kloans
Books & media (adults) 67%Kids’ books & media 33%E-books, audio & streaming 0%
How hard the shelves work
2.2×

Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times 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 $2.23 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$53 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $274K.

Local taxes 83%State 5%Federal 1%Gifts & other 11%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $610K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $274K 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 2,203 cardholders ÷ 12.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

29K
visits
5.6 per resident
38K
loans, print + digital
7.4 per resident
267
programs & events
1,854 attended
2,203
library cards
43% of people served
Every open hour28items borrowed
Every week36people at a program
Every day3Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers17K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Strongest at visits per resident

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 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 5.6 visits · typical 3Higher than 78%
Borrowing per resident 7.4 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 82%
Kids’ borrowing 2.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 67%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 62%
Programs offered 51.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 68%
Cardholders 43% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 51%
Spending $53 per resident · typical $43Higher than 63%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Massachusetts
#120 of 364

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Tilton Library serves 5,162 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

Kids & programs

About 3 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in South Deerfield →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5120
Ages 6–1110
Teens8
Adults116
All ages13
Little ones
2.3

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

13K
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,854
people at programs
267
programs
The building

Find it

Tilton Library, 75 North Main Street, Deerfield.

29
hours open a week
4,366
square feet
17K
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 South Deerfield? The Handbook →

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

Next door

Libraries next door

South Deerfield ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
SunderlandSunderland Public Library fine-free15.750
South DeerfieldTilton Library fine-free7.429
DeerfieldTilton Library fine-free7.429
WhatelyS. White Dickinson Memorial Library fine-free4.624

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 South Deerfield.

Town Square →
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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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