Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Brockton’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Brockton Public Library serves Brockton’s 104,826 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 182K print books and media and logged 566K visits.
The short version on Brockton’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 98% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 19%. The building also logs about 26 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 84% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Brockton’s library lends 1.7 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by West Bridgewater at 6.2. Libraries next door ↓
Three places to borrow in Brockton
Brockton Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Brockton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brockton is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #232 of 283 in Massachusetts. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #183. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$100K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
234 community nonprofits are registered in Brockton
2.2 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 (117 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 16 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.5%
4.5% of Brockton’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 Brockton’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Brockton Public Library serves 104,826 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Books and media off the shelf
182K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 215K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 Brockton last year.
3 places to borrow in Brockton
Brockton Public Library, 304 Main Street, Brockton.
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 Brockton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Brockton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brockton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 28,680 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Brockton ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bridgewater | West Bridgewater Public Library | 6.2 | 42 | B+ |
| Whitman | Whitman Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 48 | B− |
| Abington | Abington Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 48 | C |
| East Bridgewater | East Bridgewater Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 48 | C+ |
| Easton | Ames Free Library of Easton, Inc. | 4.3 | 90 | B+ |
| Brockton | Brockton Public Library fine-free | 1.7 | — | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Brockton Public 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 Brockton
Does Brockton have a public library?
Yes. Brockton Public Library, 304 Main Street, serves Brockton’s 104,826 residents (the survey’s count).
Is Brockton 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 Brockton’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Brockton’s civic life grade?
C Brockton is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #232 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 Brockton.
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.