Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0Andover’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Memorial Hall Library serves Andover’s 36,363 residents. Last year it lent 404K print books and media and logged 199K visits.
The short version on Andover’s library
Andover out-borrows every town next door
At 11 loans per resident, Andover leads the eight towns here. The closest is North Reading, at 6.7. Libraries next door ↓
Andover uses its library more than almost any town its size
Memorial Hall Library logs 5.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Memorial Hall Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 55,000 square feet. The building ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 21 items per child in Andover last year. Kids & programs ↓
Andover invests in its library
Memorial Hall Library spends $120 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) 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 Andover’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Andover is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #68 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Andover’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
204 community nonprofits are registered in Andover
5.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
8.3%
8.3% of Andover’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 Andover’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
404K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 145K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Memorial Hall Library serves 36,363 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 121 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 11 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 Andover last year.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Memorial Hall Library, 2 North Main Street, Andover.
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 Andover? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Memorial Hall Library
Memorial Hall Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 10, 1982. It is significant for its town planning and architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Italianate and Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Town of Andover MRA.
Memorial Hall Library is the public library of Andover, Massachusetts. Established in 1873, the library provides access to books, digital resources, educational programming, and community services for residents of all ages. The library is a founding member of the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium, a cooperative network of libraries that facilitates resource sharing and access to materials across the region.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Andover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 21,985 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Andover borrows the most per resident of the 8 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andover | Memorial Hall Library fine-free | 11.1 | 64 | A− |
| North Reading | Flint Memorial Library fine-free | 6.7 | 47 | B− |
| Wilmington | Wilmington Memorial Library fine-free | 6.2 | 58 | B |
| Tewksbury | Tewksbury Public Library fine-free | 6.1 | 53 | C− |
| North Andover | Stevens Memorial Library fine-free | 5.5 | 57 | C− |
| Dracut | Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Lib. | 4.2 | 55 | C |
| Methuen | Nevins Memorial Library fine-free | 3.4 | 59 | D− |
| Lawrence | Lawrence Public Library fine-free | 0.3 | 55 | D− |
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 Andover
Does Andover have a public library?
Yes. Memorial Hall Library, 2 North Main Street, serves Andover’s 36,363 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Memorial Hall 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 Andover’s library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 11.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Andover’s civic life grade?
A− Andover is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #68 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 Andover.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.