Photo: Wwoods · CC BY-SA 3.0Cohasset’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Paul Pratt Memorial Library serves Cohasset’s 8,346 residents. Last year it lent 113K print books and media and logged 86K visits.
What Cohasset’s library is like
Cohasset uses its library more than almost any town its size
Paul Pratt Memorial Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 29 items per child in Cohasset last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
23,000 people came to the library’s 544 programs last year: 2.8 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Cohasset out-borrows every town next door
At 14 loans per resident, Cohasset leads the five towns here. The closest is Hingham, at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for library use
Cohasset ranks #20 of 263 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 10 visits per resident, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries nationwide. 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 Cohasset’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cohasset is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #40 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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in Cohasset
7.4 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 (4 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.
7.9%
7.9% of Cohasset’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 Cohasset’s residents live; 2022.
544 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Cohasset 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.
Paul Pratt Memorial Library serves 8,346 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
113K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Paul Pratt Memorial Library, 35 Ripley Rd., Cohasset.
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 Cohasset? 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 $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cohasset cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 4,263 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cohasset borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohasset | Paul Pratt Memorial Library fine-free | 13.5 | 55 | A |
| Hingham | Hingham Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 52 | A |
| Scituate | Scituate Town Library fine-free | 10.8 | 62 | A |
| North Scituate | Scituate Town Library fine-free | 10.8 | 62 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hull | Hull Public Library | 2.5 | 40 | B− |
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 Cohasset
Does Cohasset have a public library?
Yes. Paul Pratt Memorial Library, 35 Ripley Rd., serves Cohasset’s 8,346 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paul Pratt Memorial 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 Cohasset’s library?
It logged 10.2 visits and lent 13.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cohasset’s civic life grade?
A Cohasset is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 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 Cohasset.
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.