Fort Hill Rural Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Eastham’s library lends 18 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Eastham Public Library serves Eastham’s 5,822 residents. Last year it lent 104K print books and media and logged 62K visits.
The short version on Eastham’s library
More library cards than residents
7,511 cards for 5,822 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Eastham uses its library more than almost any town its size
Eastham Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 18 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 ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for kids’ borrowing
Eastham ranks #9 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 31% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 45 items per child in Eastham last year. Kids & programs ↓
Eastham invests in its library
Eastham Public Library spends $111 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) 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 Eastham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Eastham is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #28 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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Eastham
7.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Eastham’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 Eastham’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
104K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 66K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Eastham Public Library serves 5,822 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 48 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 4 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 Eastham last year.
Find it
Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road, Eastham.
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 Eastham? 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 $2.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eastham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $647K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $647K 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 7,511 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Eastham ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orleans | Snow Library fine-free | 19.1 | 45 | A |
| Eastham | Eastham Public Library fine-free | 17.9 | 41 | A |
| Wellfleet | Wellfleet Public Library fine-free | 14.3 | 41 | A+ |
| North Eastham | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Eastham
Does Eastham have a public library?
Yes. Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road, serves Eastham’s 5,822 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eastham 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 Eastham’s library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 17.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Eastham’s civic life grade?
A Eastham is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #28 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 Eastham.
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.