Photo: Amy Ritterbusch · CC BY-SA 4.0Hopkinton’s library lends 29 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hopkinton Public Library serves Hopkinton’s 19,249 residents. Last year it lent 551K print books and media and logged 65K visits.
Hopkinton’s library, in brief
Hopkinton ranks 2nd in Massachusetts for borrowing
Out of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Hopkinton comes 2nd for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
Hopkinton out-borrows every town next door
At 29 loans per resident, Hopkinton leads the seven towns here. The closest is Southborough, at 13. Libraries next door ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 62,000 items on the shelves went out about 8.9 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 24% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Hopkinton last year. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 45%. People come in, pick up their books and go. 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 Hopkinton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hopkinton is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #96 of 283 in Massachusetts. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
83 community nonprofits are registered in Hopkinton
4.3 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.3%
11.3% of Hopkinton’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 Hopkinton’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
551K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 62K books and other items on the shelves went out about 8.9 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.
Hopkinton Public Library serves 19,249 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 189 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 11 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 Hopkinton last year.
Find it
Hopkinton Public Library, 13 Main Street, Hopkinton.
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 Hopkinton? 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 $3.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hopkinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 11,979 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hopkinton borrows the most per resident of the 7 towns here. 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+ |
| Southborough | Southborough Public Library fine-free | 12.8 | 52 | B |
| Holliston | Holliston Public Library fine-free | 10.0 | 48 | A |
| Westborough | Westborough Public Library fine-free | 8.9 | 55 | A− |
| Ashland | Ashland Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 54 | C |
| Upton | Upton Town Library fine-free | 7.0 | 50 | A− |
| Milford | Milford Town Library fine-free | 4.2 | 60 | C |
| Cordaville | 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 Hopkinton
Does Hopkinton have a public library?
Yes. Hopkinton Public Library, 13 Main Street, serves Hopkinton’s 19,249 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hopkinton 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 Hopkinton’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 28.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hopkinton’s civic life grade?
B+ Hopkinton is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #96 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 Hopkinton.
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.