East Freetown Historic District · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Freetown’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
James White Memorial Lib. serves Freetown’s 9,236 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 20K print books and media and logged 7,053 visits.
What Freetown’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Freetown’s library system sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people Freetown’s library system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Freetown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Freetown is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #268 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($108K–$180K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Freetown
2.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Freetown’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 Freetown’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
James White Memorial Lib. serves 9,236 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
20K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Freetown last year.
2 places to borrow in Freetown
James White Memorial Lib., 5 Washburn Road, East Freetown.
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 Freetown? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Freetown
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Freetown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $261K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $319K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $261K 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 1,026 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Freetown ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet | Acushnet Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 43 | C |
| Lakeville | Lakeville Free Public Library | 6.4 | 40 | B |
| Somerset | Somerset Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 51 | B− |
| Berkley | Berkley Public Library | 2.8 | 29 | C |
| Freetown | James White Memorial Lib. fine-free | 2.2 | 43 | C− |
| Fall River | Fall River Public Library | 1.2 | 61 | 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.
- 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 Freetown
Does Freetown have a public library?
Yes. James White Memorial Lib., 5 Washburn Road, serves Freetown’s 9,236 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is James White Memorial Lib. 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 Freetown’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 2.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Freetown’s civic life grade?
C− Freetown is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #268 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 Freetown.
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.