Photo: Henry Hudson Kitson · Public domainLexington’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Cary Memorial Library serves Lexington’s 34,074 residents. Last year it lent 688K print books and media and logged 379K visits.
Lexington’s library, in brief
Lexington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Cary Memorial Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 20 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Lexington ranks 4th in Massachusetts for borrowing
Out of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Lexington comes 4th for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #14 for library use and #16 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 41 items per child in Lexington last year. Kids & programs ↓
Lexington out-borrows every town next door
At 20 loans per resident, Lexington leads the nine towns here. The closest is Lincoln, at 18. Libraries next door ↓
Programs draw a crowd
30,000 people came to the library’s 974 programs last year: 0.9 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Lexington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lexington is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #49 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
262 community nonprofits are registered in Lexington
7.6 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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 14 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.3%
7.3% of Lexington’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 Lexington’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 209 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Cary Memorial Library serves 34,074 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
688K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 243K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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 Lexington last year.
Find it
Cary Memorial Library, 1874 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington.
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 Lexington? 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 $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lexington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 23,242 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lexington borrows the most per resident of the 9 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington | Cary Memorial Library fine-free | 20.2 | 63 | A |
| Lincoln | Lincoln Public Library fine-free | 18.5 | 55 | A+ |
| Bedford | Bedford Free Public Library fine-free | 16.9 | 64 | A |
| Arlington | Robbins Library fine-free | 16.6 | 97 | A |
| Winchester | Winchester Public Library fine-free | 14.8 | 61 | A− |
| Belmont | Belmont Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 55 | A |
| Burlington | Burlington Public Library fine-free | 8.2 | 58 | C+ |
| Waltham | Waltham Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 64 | B− |
| Woburn | Woburn Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 62 | 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.
- 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 Lexington
Does Lexington have a public library?
Yes. Cary Memorial Library, 1874 Massachusetts Avenue, serves Lexington’s 34,074 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cary Memorial 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 Lexington’s library?
It logged 11.1 visits and lent 20.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lexington’s civic life grade?
A Lexington is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #49 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 Lexington.
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.