Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0Arlington’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Robbins Library serves 45,522 people in and around Arlington from 2 locations. Last year it lent 758K print books and media and logged 320K visits.
The short version on Arlington’s library
Arlington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Arlington’s library system logs 7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Open about 97 hours a week
The main library is open about 97 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 108 items go out. The buildings ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 179,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.2 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Arlington’s library system logs about 1,078 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 51 public computers. That’s 8.6 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Arlington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Arlington is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #43 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 →
203 community nonprofits are registered in Arlington
4.4 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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 15 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.8%
11.8% of Arlington’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 Arlington’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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.
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.
Robbins Library serves 45,522 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 108 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
758K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 179K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Arlington
Robbins Library, 700 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington.
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 Arlington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Arlington
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Arlington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.2M 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 27,935 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Arlington ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington | Cary Memorial Library fine-free | 20.2 | 63 | A |
| Arlington | Robbins Library fine-free | 16.6 | 97 | A |
| Winchester | Winchester Public Library fine-free | 14.8 | 61 | A− |
| Cambridge | Cambridge Public Library fine-free | 11.3 | — | A |
| Belmont | Belmont Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 55 | A |
| Medford | Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library | 6.2 | 61 | B− |
| Somerville | Somerville Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | — | B+ |
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 Arlington
Does Arlington have a public library?
Yes. Robbins Library, 700 Massachusetts Avenue, serves 45,522 people in and around Arlington (the survey’s count) and is open about 97 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Robbins 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 Arlington’s library?
It logged 7.0 visits and lent 16.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Arlington’s civic life grade?
A Arlington is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #43 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 Arlington.
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.