Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Harwich’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Brooks Free Library serves Harwich’s 13,373 residents. Last year it lent 195K print books and media and logged 84K visits.
Harwich’s library, in brief
Harwich 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 ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for kids’ borrowing
Harwich ranks #10 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. 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. That works out to about 44 items per child in Harwich last year. Kids & programs ↓
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’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Harwich is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #80 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
76 community nonprofits are registered in Harwich
5.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.4%
7.4% of Harwich’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 Harwich’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Harwich last year.
3 places to borrow in Harwich
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? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Harwich
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 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 ranks 4th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis | Dennis Memorial Library Assoc. fine-free | 31.1 | 34 | B+ |
| Orleans | Snow Library fine-free | 19.1 | 45 | A |
| Harwich Port | Harwich Port Library Assoc. fine-free | 18.0 | 13 | — graded as part of its town |
| Harwich | Brooks Free Library fine-free | 14.6 | 46 | A− |
| Brewster | Brewster Ladies' Library fine-free | 13.8 | 40 | A |
| Chatham | Eldredge Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 42 | A |
| Dennis Port | Dennis Public Library | 7.9 | 37 | — 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
Does Harwich have a public library?
Yes. Brooks Free Library, 739 Main Street, serves Harwich’s 13,373 residents (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’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’s civic life grade?
A− Harwich is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #80 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 Harwich.
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.