Wayside, The · Photo: National Park Service Digital Image Archives · Public domainConcord’s library logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Concord Free Public Library serves Concord’s 17,954 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 337K print books and media and logged 350K visits.
The short version on Concord’s library
Concord uses its library more than almost any town its size
Concord Free Public Library logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Concord ranks 4th in Massachusetts for library use
Out of 263 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Concord comes 4th for visits per resident. It’s also #6 for borrowing and #22 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Concord Free Public Library ran 1,562 programs last year, about 30 a week. That’s 87 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 42,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 100 hours a week
The main library is open about 100 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out. The buildings ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 38 items per child in Concord last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 Concord’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Concord is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #16 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Concord Free Public Library logged 19.5 visits per resident in FY2024, #31 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
206 community nonprofits are registered in Concord
11.3 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 13 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.9%
8.9% of Concord’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 Concord’s residents live; 2022.
About 18 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 Concord last year.
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.
Concord Free Public Library serves 17,954 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
337K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 231K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Concord
Concord Free Public Library, 129 Main Street, Concord.
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 Concord? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Concord
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Concord cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 16,625 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Concord borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concord | Concord Free Public Library fine-free | 18.8 | 100 | A+ |
| Lincoln | Lincoln Public Library fine-free | 18.5 | 55 | A+ |
| Sudbury | Goodnow Library fine-free | 18.2 | 64 | A+ |
| Bedford | Bedford Free Public Library fine-free | 16.9 | 64 | A |
| Carlisle | Gleason Public Library fine-free | 16.7 | 52 | A+ |
| Acton | Acton Memorial Library fine-free | 15.0 | 87 | A |
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 count everyone. Concord’s 349,529 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Concord Free 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 Concord
Does Concord have a public library?
Yes. Concord Free Public Library, 129 Main Street, serves Concord’s 17,954 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 100 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Concord Free 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 Concord’s library?
It logged 19.5 visits and lent 18.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Concord’s civic life grade?
A+ Concord is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #16 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 Concord.
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.