Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Ashburnham’s library lends 8.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Stevens Memorial Library serves Ashburnham’s 6,372 residents. Last year it lent 54K print books and media and logged 25K visits.
Ashburnham’s library, in brief
Ashburnham out-borrows every town next door
At 8.5 loans per resident, Ashburnham leads the six towns here. The closest is Westminster, at 6.9. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 18 items per child in Ashburnham last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 Ashburnham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ashburnham is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #120 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Ashburnham
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.4%
8.4% of Ashburnham’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 Ashburnham’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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 Ashburnham last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Stevens Memorial Library serves 6,372 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
54K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Stevens Memorial Library, 20 Memorial Drive, Ashburnham.
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 Ashburnham? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ashburnham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $349K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $884K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $349K 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 2,394 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ashburnham borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburnham | Stevens Memorial Library fine-free | 8.5 | 33 | B |
| Westminster | Forbush Memorial Library fine-free | 6.9 | 41 | C+ |
| Gardner | Levi Heywood Memorial Library fine-free | 5.6 | 41 | C+ |
| Ashby | Ashby Free Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 26 | A |
| Winchendon | Beals Memorial Library | 2.2 | 37 | C |
| Fitchburg | Fitchburg Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 47 | D |
| South Ashburnham | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Ashburnham
Does Ashburnham have a public library?
Yes. Stevens Memorial Library, 20 Memorial Drive, serves Ashburnham’s 6,372 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stevens 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 Ashburnham’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 8.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ashburnham’s civic life grade?
B Ashburnham is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #120 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 Ashburnham.
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.