Stony Brook-Factory Village Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Brewster’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Brewster Ladies' Library serves Brewster’s 10,444 residents. Last year it lent 144K print books and media and logged 69K visits.
What Brewster’s library is like
Brewster uses its library more than almost any town its size
Brewster Ladies' Library logs 6.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 32% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 34 items per child in Brewster last year. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Brewster Ladies' Library logs about 257 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 7 public computers. That’s 9 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 385 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 147 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
81% of Brewster carry a library card
8,455 cards for 10,444 people, or 81%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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 Brewster’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brewster is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #26 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 →
68 community nonprofits are registered in Brewster
6.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (9 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.
11.5%
11.5% of Brewster’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 Brewster’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
144K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 57K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times 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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Brewster Ladies' Library serves 10,444 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 69 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Brewster last year.
Find it
Brewster Ladies' Library, 1822 Main Street, Brewster.
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 Brewster? 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 $2.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brewster cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $966K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $966K 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 8,455 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Brewster ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis | Dennis Memorial Library Assoc. fine-free | 31.1 | 34 | B+ |
| East Dennis | Jacob Sears Memorial Library fine-free | 23.5 | 95 | — graded as part of its town |
| Orleans | Snow Library fine-free | 19.1 | 45 | A |
| Harwich | Brooks Free Library fine-free | 14.6 | 46 | A− |
| Brewster | Brewster Ladies' Library fine-free | 13.8 | 40 | A |
| Northwest Harwich | Chase Library Assoc., Inc. fine-free | 7.8 | 10 | — graded as part of its town |
| East Harwich | 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 Brewster
Does Brewster have a public library?
Yes. Brewster Ladies' Library, 1822 Main Street, serves Brewster’s 10,444 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brewster Ladies' 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 Brewster’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 13.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Brewster’s civic life grade?
A Brewster is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #26 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 Brewster.
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.