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Library · Turners Falls

Montague Public Libraries

Montague Public Libraries serves 8,463 people in and around Turners Falls. Last year it lent 84K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.

201 Avenue A, Turners Falls 01376 · about 75 hours a week
Photo: ScotteKane
Borrowed a year
84K
9.9 per resident
Visits a year
27K
3.2 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
294
about 6 a week · 6,815 attended
Cardholders
48%
4,066 cards
Open
75 hrs
a week

What stands out about Montague Public Libraries

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

84K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

84Kloans
Books & media (adults) 73%Kids’ books & media 27%E-books, audio & streaming 0%
How hard the shelves work
1.8×

Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 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 $2.40 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Turners Falls 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
$68 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $578K.

Local taxes 89%State 5%Federal 4%Gifts & other 2%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $578K 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 4,066 cardholders ÷ 12.

The building

Find it

Montague Public Libraries, 201 Avenue A, Turners Falls.

75
hours open a week
5,500
square feet
47K
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 Turners Falls? 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 17 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

27K
visits
3.2 per resident
84K
loans, print + digital
9.9 per resident
294
programs & events
6,815 attended
4,066
library cards
48% of people served
Every open hour17items borrowed
Every week131people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
6 staff (full-time equivalent)10 public computers47K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Strongest at borrowing 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 3.2 visits · typical 3Higher than 54%
Borrowing per resident 9.9 print items · typical 3.8Top 10%
Kids’ borrowing 2.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 73%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 70%
Programs offered 34.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 50%
Cardholders 48% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 59%
Spending $68 per resident · typical $43Higher than 77%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Massachusetts
#231 of 364

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Montague Public Libraries serves 8,463 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 Turners Falls →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–590
Ages 6–1185
Teens27
Adults75
All ages17
Little ones
1.7

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

23K
kids’ books & media borrowed
6,815
people at programs
294
programs
Next door

Libraries next door

Turners Falls 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
GreenfieldGreenfield Public Library fine-free10.746
Turners FallsMontague Public Libraries fine-free9.975
MontagueMontague Public Libraries fine-free9.975
GillSlate Memorial Library fine-free1.218

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 Turners Falls.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Montague Public Libraries one of the best things about Turners Falls?

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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