Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainFall River’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Fall River Public Library serves Fall River’s 93,682 residents. Last year it lent 115K print books and media and logged 115K visits.
The short version on Fall River’s library
Every town next door borrows more
Fall River’s library lends 1.2 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Tiverton at 6.8. Libraries next door ↓
Fall River Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Fall River Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Fall River Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Fall River Public Library offered 487 programs last year, 5.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. 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 Fall River’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Fall River is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns, #276 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Fall River’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Fall River Public Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
189 community nonprofits are registered in Fall River
2.0 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 (50 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.7%
4.7% of Fall River’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 Fall River’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Fall River Public Library serves 93,682 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
115K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 173K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Fall River last year.
Find it
Fall River Public Library, 104 North Main St., Fall River.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fall River? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fall River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 17,231 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Fall River ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiverton | Tiverton Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 51 | C |
| Somerset | Somerset Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 51 | B− |
| Westport | Westport Free Public Library fine-free | 4.1 | 47 | C+ |
| Freetown | James White Memorial Lib. fine-free | 2.2 | 43 | C− |
| Fall River | Fall River Public Library | 1.2 | 61 | D− |
| North Westport | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Fall River 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 Fall River
Does Fall River have a public library?
Yes. Fall River Public Library, 104 North Main St., serves Fall River’s 93,682 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fall River Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fall River’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Fall River’s civic life grade?
D− Fall River is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life, #276 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 Fall River.
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.