Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0Hamilton’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hamilton-Wenham Public Library serves Hamilton’s 12,452 residents. Last year it lent 206K print books and media and logged 82K visits.
The short version on Hamilton’s library
Hamilton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hamilton-Wenham Public Library logs 6.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 60 items per child in Hamilton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Hamilton out-borrows every town next door
At 17 loans per resident, Hamilton leads the five towns here. The closest is Topsfield, at 14. Libraries next door ↓
Hamilton invests in its library
Hamilton-Wenham Public Library spends $98 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) 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 Hamilton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hamilton is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #11 of 283 in Massachusetts. Hamilton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hamilton’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
61 community nonprofits are registered in Hamilton
8.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 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.
11.7%
11.7% of Hamilton’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 Hamilton’s residents live; 2022.
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 Hamilton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hamilton-Wenham Public Library serves 12,452 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 84 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
206K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 112K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, 14 Union St., South Hamilton.
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 Hamilton? 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 $2.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hamilton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 8,890 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hamilton borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | Hamilton-Wenham Public Library fine-free | 16.5 | 47 | A+ |
| Topsfield | Topsfield Town Library fine-free | 14.1 | 41 | A+ |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | Manchester-By-The-Sea Pub. Library fine-free | 10.9 | 41 | A+ |
| Ipswich | Ipswich Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 52 | A |
| Essex | T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library fine-free | 9.0 | 29 | B− |
| Wenham | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Hamilton
Does Hamilton have a public library?
Yes. Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, 14 Union St., serves Hamilton’s 12,452 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamilton-Wenham 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 Hamilton’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 16.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hamilton’s civic life grade?
A+ Hamilton is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #11 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 Hamilton.
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.