Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Lunenburg’s library logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Lunenburg Public Library serves Lunenburg’s 11,835 residents. Last year it lent 78K print books and media and logged 66K visits.
The short version on Lunenburg’s library
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Lunenburg Public Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Lunenburg Public Library logs about 241 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 26 public computers. That’s 7.4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Lunenburg’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lunenburg is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #116 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; Lunenburg’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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Lunenburg
3.4 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.3%
8.3% of Lunenburg’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 Lunenburg’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lunenburg Public Library serves 11,835 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
78K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Lunenburg last year.
Find it
Lunenburg Public Library, 1023 Massachusetts Ave., Lunenburg.
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 Lunenburg? 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 $2.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lunenburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $677K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $677K 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 6,379 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lunenburg ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townsend | Townsend Public Library fine-free | 13.2 | 45 | A |
| Lunenburg | Lunenburg Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 44 | B+ |
| Shirley | Hazen Memorial Library fine-free | 5.7 | 32 | B+ |
| Leominster | Leominster Public Library | 5.1 | 63 | C− |
| Ashby | Ashby Free Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 26 | A |
| Fitchburg | Fitchburg Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 47 | 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.
- 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 Lunenburg
Does Lunenburg have a public library?
Yes. Lunenburg Public Library, 1023 Massachusetts Ave., serves Lunenburg’s 11,835 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lunenburg 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 Lunenburg’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 6.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lunenburg’s civic life grade?
B+ Lunenburg is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #116 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 Lunenburg.
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.