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Winthrop Public Library

Winthrop’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Winthrop Public Library serves Winthrop’s 2,420 residents. Last year it lent 3,197 print books and media and logged 5,842 visits.

354 W Madison St., Winthrop 50682 · about 25 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
3,197
1.3 per resident
Visits a year
5,842
2.4 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
42
about 1 a week · 3,642 attended
Cardholders
30%
731 cards
Open
25 hrs
a week
In brief

Winthrop’s library, in brief

A small-town library

Winthrop Public Library serves 2,420 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓

Runs on less money than most

Winthrop Public Library spends $21 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓

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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Winthrop’s civic life grade

Winthrop isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Winthrop’s overall grade.

Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.

Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.4 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 67%
Borrowing per resident 1.3 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 86%
Kids’ borrowing 0.3 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 88%
Program attendance 1.5 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 77%
Programs offered 17.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 80%
Cardholders 30% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 77%
Spending $21 per resident · typical $54Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Winthrop Public Library serves 2,420 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

5,842
visits
2.4 per resident
3,197
loans, print + digital
1.3 per resident
42
programs & events
3,642 attended
731
library cards
30% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week70people at a program
Every day3Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)5 public computers13K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

3,197 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

3,197loans
Books & media (adults) 81%Kids’ books & media 19%
How hard the shelves work
0.3×

Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

42 programs a year

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

Schools in Winthrop →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–57
Ages 6–1122
Teens0
Adults12
All ages1
Little ones
0.1

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

Kids’ books
2

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

3,642
people at programs
42
programs
The building

Find it

Winthrop Public Library, 354 W Madison St., Winthrop.

25
hours open a week
1,216
square feet
13K
books & media
With a card

No late fees.

New in Winthrop? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.81 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Winthrop 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
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$21 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.

Local taxes 94%State 3%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $91K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 731 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.

Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →

Questions about the library and civic life in Winthrop

Does Winthrop have a public library?

Yes. Winthrop Public Library, 354 W Madison St., serves Winthrop’s 2,420 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Winthrop Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Winthrop’s library?

It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Winthrop’s civic life grade?

Winthrop isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Winthrop.

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.