Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Haverhill’s library runs 9.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Haverhill Public Library serves Haverhill’s 67,153 residents. Last year it lent 199K print books and media and logged 177K visits.
What stands out about Haverhill’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Haverhill’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Haverhill is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #267 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($66K–$110K) 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 →
158 community nonprofits are registered in Haverhill
2.3 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 (46 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.4%
5.4% of Haverhill’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 Haverhill’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Haverhill Public Library serves 67,153 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 62 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
199K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 139K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 Haverhill last year.
Find it
Haverhill Public Library, 99 Main St., Haverhill.
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 Haverhill? 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 $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Haverhill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 32,753 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Haverhill ranks 9th of 9 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Newbury | G. A. R. Memorial Library fine-free | 15.2 | 42 | A |
| Atkinson | Kimball Library fine-free | 7.7 | 52 | B− |
| Plaistow | Plaistow Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 46 | B+ |
| Boxford | Boxford Town Library fine-free | 6.4 | 45 | B |
| Merrimac | Merrimac Public Library fine-free | 6.1 | 37 | C+ |
| North Andover | Stevens Memorial Library fine-free | 5.5 | 57 | C− |
| Groveland | Langley Adams Library fine-free | 4.6 | 38 | B |
| Methuen | Nevins Memorial Library fine-free | 3.4 | 59 | D− |
| Haverhill | Haverhill Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 61 | C− |
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 Haverhill
Does Haverhill have a public library?
Yes. Haverhill Public Library, 99 Main St., serves Haverhill’s 67,153 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Haverhill 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 Haverhill’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Haverhill’s civic life grade?
C− Haverhill is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #267 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 Haverhill.
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.