Photo: Nick Allen · CC BY-SA 4.0Fitchburg’s library lends 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Fitchburg Public Library serves Fitchburg’s 41,502 residents. Last year it lent 65K print books and media and logged 80K visits.
What Fitchburg’s library is like
Every town next door borrows more
Fitchburg’s library lends 1.6 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Ashburnham at 8.5. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Fitchburg Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 367 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Fitchburg’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Fitchburg is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #270 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Fitchburg’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Fitchburg’s 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 ($55K–$91K) 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 →
114 community nonprofits are registered in Fitchburg
2.7 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 (42 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.
5.4%
5.4% of Fitchburg’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 Fitchburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Fitchburg Public Library serves 41,502 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
65K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 100K 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 5 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 Fitchburg last year.
Find it
Fitchburg Public Library, 610 Main St., Fitchburg.
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 Fitchburg? 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 Fitchburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 16,294 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Fitchburg ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburnham | Stevens Memorial Library fine-free | 8.5 | 33 | B |
| Westminster | Forbush Memorial Library fine-free | 6.9 | 41 | C+ |
| Lunenburg | Lunenburg Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 44 | B+ |
| Leominster | Leominster Public Library | 5.1 | 63 | C− |
| Ashby | Ashby Free Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 26 | A |
| Fitchburg | Fitchburg Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 47 | D |
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. Fitchburg 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 Fitchburg
Does Fitchburg have a public library?
Yes. Fitchburg Public Library, 610 Main St., serves Fitchburg’s 41,502 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fitchburg 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 Fitchburg’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Fitchburg’s civic life grade?
D Fitchburg is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #270 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 Fitchburg.
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.