Photo: Pesotsky · CC BY 3.0Brookline’s library logs 8.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Brookline Public Library serves Brookline’s 62,535 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 814K print books and media and logged 546K visits.
Brookline’s library, in brief
Brookline uses its library more than almost any town its size
Brookline Public Library logs 8.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 32 items per child in Brookline last year. Kids & programs ↓
Three places to borrow in Brookline
Brookline Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
Brookline invests in its library
Brookline Public Library spends $86 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. All of it 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 Brookline’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brookline is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #61 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
276 community nonprofits are registered in Brookline
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (50 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 14 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.8%
8.8% of Brookline’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 Brookline’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 67 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Brookline Public Library serves 62,535 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
814K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 275K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 13 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 Brookline last year.
3 places to borrow in Brookline
Brookline Public Library, 361 Washington St., Brookline.
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 Brookline? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Brookline
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brookline cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.3M 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 41,968 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Brookline ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Brookline
Does Brookline have a public library?
Yes. Brookline Public Library, 361 Washington St., serves Brookline’s 62,535 residents (the survey’s count).
Is Brookline 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 Brookline’s library?
It logged 8.7 visits and lent 13.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Brookline’s civic life grade?
A− Brookline is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #61 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 Brookline.
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.