Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Hingham’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hingham Public Library serves Hingham’s 24,130 residents. Last year it lent 283K print books and media and logged 139K visits.
Hingham’s library, in brief
Hingham is a town of borrowers
Hingham Public Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Hingham last year. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Hingham Public Library logs about 358 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 30 public computers. That’s 5.4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Hingham invests in its library
Hingham Public Library spends $88 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) 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 Hingham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hingham is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #29 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
129 community nonprofits are registered in Hingham
5.3 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
16.4%
16.4% of Hingham’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 Hingham’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
283K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 157K 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hingham Public Library serves 24,130 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 104 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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 Hingham last year.
Find it
Hingham Public Library, 66 Leavitt St., Hingham.
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 Hingham? 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 $2.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hingham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 9,936 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hingham ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohasset | Paul Pratt Memorial Library fine-free | 13.5 | 55 | A |
| Norwell | Norwell Public Library | 12.6 | 50 | A |
| Hingham | Hingham Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 52 | A |
| Scituate | Scituate Town Library fine-free | 10.8 | 62 | A |
| Weymouth Town | Weymouth Public Libraries fine-free | 4.6 | 76 | C+ |
| Hull | Hull Public Library | 2.5 | 40 | B− |
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 Hingham
Does Hingham have a public library?
Yes. Hingham Public Library, 66 Leavitt St., serves Hingham’s 24,130 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hingham 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 Hingham’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 11.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hingham’s civic life grade?
A Hingham is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #29 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 Hingham.
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.