Jonathan and Simon Hosmer House · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Acton’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Acton Memorial Library serves Acton’s 23,829 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 357K print books and media and logged 175K visits.
The short version on Acton’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 35 items per child in Acton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Acton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Acton’s library system logs 7.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Open about 87 hours a week
The main library is open about 87 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 60 items go out. The buildings ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for borrowing
Acton ranks #19 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 15 items per resident, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Acton invests in its library
Acton’s library system spends $97 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Acton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Acton is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #24 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
132 community nonprofits are registered in Acton
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.5%
13.5% of Acton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Massachusetts town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Acton’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Acton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Acton Memorial Library serves 23,829 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 60 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
357K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 148K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Acton
Acton Memorial Library, 486 Main St., Acton.
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 Acton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Acton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Acton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 15,237 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Acton ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concord | Concord Free Public Library fine-free | 18.8 | 100 | A+ |
| Carlisle | Gleason Public Library fine-free | 16.7 | 52 | A+ |
| Littleton | Reuben Hoar Library fine-free | 15.8 | 46 | A |
| Acton | Acton Memorial Library fine-free | 15.0 | 87 | A |
| Boxborough | Sargent Memorial Library fine-free | 13.1 | 42 | A+ |
| Westford | J. V. Fletcher Library fine-free | 12.9 | 53 | A |
| Stow | Randall Library fine-free | 5.1 | 37 | A− |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Massachusetts libraries often don’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 Acton
Does Acton have a public library?
Yes. Acton Memorial Library, 486 Main St., serves Acton’s 23,829 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 87 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Acton Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Acton’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 15.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Acton’s civic life grade?
A Acton is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #24 of 283 in Massachusetts. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Acton.
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.