Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Ipswich’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Ipswich Public Library serves Ipswich’s 13,848 residents. Last year it lent 146K print books and media and logged 73K visits.
The short version on Ipswich’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 30 items per child in Ipswich last year. Kids & programs ↓
Ipswich is a town of borrowers
Ipswich Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Ipswich invests in its library
Ipswich Public Library spends $89 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) 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 Ipswich’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ipswich is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #44 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 →
79 community nonprofits are registered in Ipswich
5.7 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 (6 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.
10.5%
10.5% of Ipswich’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 Ipswich’s residents live; 2022.
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 Ipswich last year.
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.
Ipswich Public Library serves 13,848 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 54 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
146K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 76K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ipswich Public Library, 25 North Main St., Ipswich.
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 Ipswich? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ipswich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 7,013 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ipswich ranks 3rd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | Hamilton-Wenham Public Library fine-free | 16.5 | 47 | A+ |
| Topsfield | Topsfield Town Library fine-free | 14.1 | 41 | A+ |
| Ipswich | Ipswich Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 52 | A |
| Essex | T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library fine-free | 9.0 | 29 | B− |
| Boxford | Boxford Town Library fine-free | 6.4 | 45 | B |
| Rowley | Rowley Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 48 | B+ |
| Gloucester | Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Lib fine-free | 3.6 | 49 | 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 Ipswich
Does Ipswich have a public library?
Yes. Ipswich Public Library, 25 North Main St., serves Ipswich’s 13,848 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ipswich 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 Ipswich’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 10.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Ipswich’s civic life grade?
A Ipswich is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #44 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 Ipswich.
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.