Photo: Smc6287 at English Wikipedia · Public domainHolliston’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Holliston Public Library serves Holliston’s 14,856 residents. Last year it lent 148K print books and media and logged 94K visits.
What Holliston’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Holliston last year. Kids & programs ↓
Holliston uses its library more than almost any town its size
Holliston Public Library logs 6.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 10 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 ↓
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 Holliston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Holliston is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #50 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 →
67 community nonprofits are registered in Holliston
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (7 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.
11.2%
11.2% of Holliston’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 Holliston’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Holliston last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Holliston Public Library serves 14,856 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 60 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
148K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Holliston Public Library, 752 Washington St., Holliston.
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 Holliston? 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 $3.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Holliston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $639K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $639K 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 6,758 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Holliston ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkinton | Hopkinton Public Library fine-free | 28.6 | 56 | B+ |
| Sherborn | Sherborn Library fine-free | 16.7 | 48 | A+ |
| Millis | Millis Public Library fine-free | 14.8 | 52 | B |
| Holliston | Holliston Public Library fine-free | 10.0 | 48 | A |
| Medway | Medway Public Library fine-free | 7.4 | 44 | A− |
| Milford | Milford Town Library fine-free | 4.2 | 60 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Holliston Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Holliston
Does Holliston have a public library?
Yes. Holliston Public Library, 752 Washington St., serves Holliston’s 14,856 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Holliston 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 Holliston’s library?
It logged 6.3 visits and lent 10.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Holliston’s civic life grade?
A Holliston is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #50 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 Holliston.
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.