Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Harwich Center’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Brooks Free Library serves 13,373 people in and around Harwich Center. Last year it lent 195K print books and media and logged 84K visits.
Harwich Center’s library, in brief
Harwich Center uses its library more than almost any town its size
Brooks Free Library logs 6.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Brooks Free Library ran 840 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 63 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 17,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 36% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Brooks Free Library serves more than Harwich Center
The library’s service area covers 13,373 people in and around Harwich Center, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 840 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 334 were for children. 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 Harwich Center’s civic life grade
Harwich Center isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Books and media off the shelf
195K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 73K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Brooks Free Library serves 13,373 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 82 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 6 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.
Find it
Brooks Free Library, 739 Main Street, Harwich.
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 Harwich Center? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harwich Center cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 10,236 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Harwich Center ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harwich Port | Harwich Port Library Assoc. fine-free | 18.0 | 13 | — graded as part of its town |
| Harwich Center | Brooks Free Library fine-free | 14.6 | 46 | — graded as part of its town |
| Northwest Harwich | Chase Library Assoc., Inc. fine-free | 7.8 | 10 | — graded as part of its town |
| East Harwich | 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 Harwich Center
Does Harwich Center have a public library?
Yes. Brooks Free Library, 739 Main Street, serves 13,373 people in and around Harwich Center (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brooks Free 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 Harwich Center’s library?
It logged 6.3 visits and lent 14.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Harwich Center’s civic life grade?
Harwich Center isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Harwich Center.
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.