Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Mattapoisett Center’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mattapoisett Free Public Library serves 6,589 people in and around Mattapoisett Center. Last year it lent 88K print books and media and logged 57K visits.
The short version on Mattapoisett Center’s library
Mattapoisett Center uses its library more than almost any town its size
Mattapoisett Free Public Library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Mattapoisett Free Public Library serves more than Mattapoisett Center
The library’s service area covers 6,589 people in and around Mattapoisett Center, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Mattapoisett Center’s civic life grade
Mattapoisett Center isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 2 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mattapoisett Free Public Library serves 6,589 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
88K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 54K 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.
Find it
Mattapoisett Free Public Library, 7 Barstow Street, Mattapoisett.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mattapoisett Center? 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 $2.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mattapoisett Center cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $544K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $544K 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 3,891 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattapoisett Center | Mattapoisett Free Public Library | 13.4 | 41 | — graded as part of its town |
| Marion | Elizabeth Taber Library fine-free | 6.3 | 46 | 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.
- 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 Mattapoisett Center
Does Mattapoisett Center have a public library?
Yes. Mattapoisett Free Public Library, 7 Barstow Street, serves 6,589 people in and around Mattapoisett Center (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mattapoisett 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 Mattapoisett Center’s library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 13.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mattapoisett Center’s civic life grade?
Mattapoisett Center isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Mattapoisett Center.
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.