Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY 4.0Dedham’s library runs 62 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Dedham Public Library serves Dedham’s 24,997 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 154K print books and media and logged 92K visits.
The short version on Dedham’s library
Open about 99 hours a week
The main library is open about 99 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out. The buildings ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Dedham Public Library ran 1,562 programs last year, about 30 a week. That’s 62 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
64% of the 1,562 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 357 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Dedham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dedham is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #137 of 283 in Massachusetts. Dedham’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
136 community nonprofits are registered in Dedham
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Dedham’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 Dedham’s residents live; 2022.
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 Dedham last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Dedham Public Library serves 24,997 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
154K 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 2.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Dedham
Dedham Public Library, 43 Church St., Dedham.
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 Dedham? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Dedham
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dedham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 9,706 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Dedham ranks 4th of 5 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 Dedham
Does Dedham have a public library?
Yes. Dedham Public Library, 43 Church St., serves Dedham’s 24,997 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 99 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dedham 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 Dedham’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 6.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Dedham’s civic life grade?
B Dedham is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #137 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 Dedham.
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.