Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Barnstable Town’s library runs 185 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Osterville Village Library serves 7,033 people in and around Barnstable Town. Last year it lent 84K print books and media and logged 52K visits.
The short version on Barnstable Town’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
80% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 19%. What your card is worth ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Osterville Village Library ran 1,304 programs last year, about 25 a week. That’s 185 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 31,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Barnstable Town uses its library more than almost any town its size
Osterville Village Library logs 7.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Osterville Village Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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 Barnstable Town’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Barnstable Town is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #97 of 283 in Massachusetts. Barnstable Town’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
316 community nonprofits are registered in Barnstable Town
6.4 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 (55 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.
6.8%
6.8% of Barnstable Town’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 Barnstable Town’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Osterville Village Library serves 7,033 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
84K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 50K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
7 places to borrow in Barnstable Town
Osterville Village Library, 43 Wianno Avenue, Osterville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Barnstable Town? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Barnstable Town
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Barnstable Town cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 5,012 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Barnstable Town ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mashpee | Mashpee Public Library fine-free | 12.8 | 43 | A− |
| Barnstable Town | Osterville Village Library | 11.9 | 49 | B+ |
| Sandwich | Sandwich Free Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 48 | C |
| Yarmouth | Yarmouth Town Libraries fine-free | 5.1 | 76 | B |
| West Yarmouth | West Yarmouth Library fine-free | 5.1 | 30 | — graded as part of its town |
| Popponesset Island | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Yarmouth Port | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Mashpee Neck | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Osterville Village Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Barnstable Town
Does Barnstable Town have a public library?
Yes. Osterville Village Library, 43 Wianno Avenue, serves 7,033 people in and around Barnstable Town (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Osterville Village Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Barnstable Town’s library?
It logged 7.4 visits and lent 11.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Barnstable Town’s civic life grade?
B+ Barnstable Town is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #97 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 Barnstable Town.
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.