Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Medfield’s library runs 93 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Medfield Memorial Library serves Medfield’s 13,072 residents. Last year it lent 146K print books and media and logged 85K visits.
Medfield’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Medfield Memorial Library ran 1,216 programs last year, about 23 a week. That’s 93 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 14,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Medfield last year. Kids & programs ↓
Medfield uses its library more than almost any town its size
Medfield Memorial Library logs 6.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
61% of the 1,216 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 344 were for children. 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 Medfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Medfield is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #64 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 →
73 community nonprofits are registered in Medfield
5.6 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Medfield’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 Medfield’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Medfield 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.
Medfield Memorial Library serves 13,072 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
146K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Medfield Memorial Library, 468 Main Street, Medfield.
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 Medfield? 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 $2.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Medfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M 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 6,652 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Medfield ranks 5th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherborn | Sherborn Library fine-free | 16.7 | 48 | A+ |
| Millis | Millis Public Library fine-free | 14.8 | 52 | B |
| Millis-Clicquot | Millis Public Library fine-free | 14.8 | 52 | — graded as part of its town |
| Dover | Dover Town Library fine-free | 12.5 | 51 | A− |
| Medfield | Medfield Memorial Library fine-free | 11.1 | 51 | A− |
| Norfolk | Franklin Public Library | 8.1 | 60 | B+ |
| Walpole | Walpole Public Library | 6.3 | 55 | 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 Medfield
Does Medfield have a public library?
Yes. Medfield Memorial Library, 468 Main Street, serves Medfield’s 13,072 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Medfield 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 Medfield’s library?
It logged 6.5 visits and lent 11.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Medfield’s civic life grade?
A− Medfield is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #64 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 Medfield.
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.