Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Bolton’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Bolton Public Library serves Bolton’s 5,728 residents. Last year it lent 60K print books and media and logged 27K visits.
The short version on Bolton’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Bolton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Bolton is a town of borrowers
Bolton Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Bolton invests in its library
Bolton Public Library spends $122 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 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 Bolton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bolton is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #97 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bolton’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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Bolton
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of Bolton’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 Bolton’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Bolton last year.
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.
Bolton Public Library serves 5,728 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
60K 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 1.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bolton Public Library, 738 Main St., Bolton.
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 Bolton? 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 $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bolton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $700K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $889K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $700K 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 4,056 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bolton ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard | Harvard Public Library fine-free | 13.4 | 43 | A |
| Bolton | Bolton Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 41 | B+ |
| Hudson | Hudson Public Library fine-free | 7.4 | 60 | C |
| Lancaster | Thayer Memorial Library fine-free | 7.3 | 47 | C+ |
| Berlin | Berlin Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 31 | C+ |
| Clinton | Bigelow Free Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 48 | C− |
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 Bolton
Does Bolton have a public library?
Yes. Bolton Public Library, 738 Main St., serves Bolton’s 5,728 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bolton 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 Bolton’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 10.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bolton’s civic life grade?
B+ Bolton 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 Bolton.
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.