Photo: MarinelaK · CC BY-SA 4.0Aquinnah’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Aquinnah Public Library serves Aquinnah’s 444 residents. Last year it lent 6,467 print books and media and logged 2,700 visits.
The short version on Aquinnah’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Aquinnah Public Library ran 105 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 236 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Aquinnah Public Library keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Aquinnah is a town of borrowers
Aquinnah Public Library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Aquinnah Public Library serves 444 residents with about 2 full-time staff. 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 ↓
Aquinnah invests in its library
Aquinnah Public Library spends $344 per resident a year, about six times the typical $54 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Aquinnah’s civic life grade
Aquinnah isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Books and media off the shelf
6,467 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 8,876 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time 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 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Aquinnah Public Library serves 444 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
105 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Aquinnah last year.
Find it
Aquinnah Public Library, 1 Church St., Aquinnah.
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 Aquinnah? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Aquinnah cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $153K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $105K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $153K 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 219 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Aquinnah ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Aquinnah
Does Aquinnah have a public library?
Yes. Aquinnah Public Library, 1 Church St., serves Aquinnah’s 444 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Aquinnah Public 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 Aquinnah’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 14.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Aquinnah’s civic life grade?
Aquinnah 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 Aquinnah.
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.