Photo: Oceanhistory · CC BY-SA 4.0Marblehead’s library lends 4.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Abbot Public Library serves Marblehead’s 20,233 residents. Last year it lent 98K print books and media and drew 8,505 people to its programs.
What stands out about Marblehead’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Marblehead’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Marblehead is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #67 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Marblehead is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Marblehead’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Marblehead’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
141 community nonprofits are registered in Marblehead
6.9 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Marblehead’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 Marblehead’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Abbot Public Library serves 20,233 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
98K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 63K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 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 Marblehead last year.
Find it
Abbot Public Library, 235 Pleasant Street, Marblehead.
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 Marblehead? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marblehead cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 10,254 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Marblehead ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swampscott | Swampscott Public Library fine-free | 10.4 | 54 | B |
| Salem | Salem Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 64 | C+ |
| Marblehead | Abbot Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 47 | A− |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Abbot Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- 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 Marblehead
Does Marblehead have a public library?
Yes. Abbot Public Library, 235 Pleasant Street, serves Marblehead’s 20,233 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Abbot 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 Marblehead’s library?
It lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 442 programs that drew 8,505 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Marblehead’s civic life grade?
A− Marblehead is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #67 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 Marblehead.
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.