Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Lakeville’s library lends 6.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lakeville Free Public Library serves Lakeville’s 11,895 residents. Last year it lent 76K print books and media and logged 43K visits.
Lakeville’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Lakeville Free Public Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Lakeville Free Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Three of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Lakeville out-borrows every town next door
At 6.4 loans per resident, Lakeville leads the six towns here. The closest is North Lakeville, at 6.4. Libraries next door ↓
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 Lakeville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lakeville is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #146 of 283 in Massachusetts. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Lakeville’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Lakeville
3.6 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Lakeville’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 Lakeville’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Lakeville Free Public Library serves 11,895 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
76K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 49K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Lakeville last year.
Find it
Lakeville Free Public Library, 4 Precinct St., Lakeville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lakeville? 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 $2.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lakeville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $483K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $483K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 5,367 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lakeville borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeville | Lakeville Free Public Library | 6.4 | 40 | B |
| North Lakeville | Lakeville Free Public Library | 6.4 | 40 | — graded as part of its town |
| Middleborough | Middleborough Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 51 | C− |
| Middleborough Center | Middleborough Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 51 | — graded as part of its town |
| Freetown | James White Memorial Lib. fine-free | 2.2 | 43 | C− |
| Taunton | Taunton Public Library | 1.4 | 63 | D |
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. Lakeville Free 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 Lakeville
Does Lakeville have a public library?
Yes. Lakeville Free Public Library, 4 Precinct St., serves Lakeville’s 11,895 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lakeville Free Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lakeville’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 6.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lakeville’s civic life grade?
B Lakeville is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #146 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 Lakeville.
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.