Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0Littleton’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Reuben Hoar Library serves Littleton’s 10,139 residents. Last year it lent 160K print books and media and logged 73K visits.
Littleton’s library, in brief
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 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 40 items per child in Littleton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Littleton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Reuben Hoar Library logs 7.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for borrowing
Littleton ranks #15 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 16 items per resident, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Reuben Hoar Library ran 605 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 60 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Littleton out-borrows every town next door
At 15.8 loans per resident, Littleton leads the seven towns here. The closest is Acton, at 15.0. 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 Littleton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Littleton is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #37 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Littleton
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
10.2%
10.2% of Littleton’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 Littleton’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Littleton 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.
Reuben Hoar Library serves 10,139 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 67 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
160K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 86K 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
Reuben Hoar Library, 35 Shattuck St., Littleton.
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 Littleton? 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 $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Littleton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 6,314 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Littleton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Littleton | Reuben Hoar Library fine-free | 15.8 | 46 | A |
| Acton | Acton Memorial Library fine-free | 15.0 | 87 | A |
| Groton | Groton Public Library fine-free | 14.6 | 50 | A− |
| Harvard | Harvard Public Library fine-free | 13.4 | 43 | A |
| Boxborough | Sargent Memorial Library fine-free | 13.1 | 42 | A+ |
| Westford | J. V. Fletcher Library fine-free | 12.9 | 53 | A |
| Ayer | Ayer Library fine-free | 8.4 | 36 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Reuben Hoar 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 Littleton
Does Littleton have a public library?
Yes. Reuben Hoar Library, 35 Shattuck St., serves Littleton’s 10,139 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Reuben Hoar 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 Littleton’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 15.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Littleton’s civic life grade?
A Littleton is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #37 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 Littleton.
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.