Methuen Memorial Music Hall · Photo: EraserGirl · Public domainMethuen’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Nevins Memorial Library serves 53,241 people in and around Methuen. Last year it lent 179K print books and media and logged 100K visits.
What Methuen’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Nevins Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. Today’s library there has 40,000 square feet. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
64% of the 1,147 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 320 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 Methuen’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Methuen is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #277 of 283 in Massachusetts. Methuen is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Methuen’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($85K–$142K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
Methuen has few registered community nonprofits
0.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
A National Register landmark since 1984
Nevins Memorial Library, 305 Broadway, Methuen.
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 Methuen? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Nevins Memorial Library
Nevins Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 20, 1984. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival. It was listed as part of Methuen MRA.
The Nevins Memorial Library at 305 Broadway in Methuen, Massachusetts was built in 1883 to honor David Nevins, Sr. as a memorial gift from his wife Eliza Nevins (née Eliza Coffin), his elder son David Nevins, Jr., and his younger son Henry Coffin Nevins. The library is located at 305 Broadway in Methuen and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Nevins Memorial Library serves 53,241 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 58 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
179K 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 2.1 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Methuen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 13,443 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Methuen ranks 6th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andover | Memorial Hall Library fine-free | 11.1 | 64 | A− |
| Pelham | Pelham Public Library | 6.4 | 56 | C+ |
| North Andover | Stevens Memorial Library fine-free | 5.5 | 57 | C− |
| Dracut | Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Lib. | 4.2 | 55 | C |
| Salem | Kelley Library | 3.7 | 63 | C− |
| Methuen | Nevins Memorial Library fine-free | 3.4 | 59 | D− |
| Haverhill | Haverhill Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 61 | C− |
| Lawrence | Lawrence Public Library fine-free | 0.3 | 55 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Nevins Memorial 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 Methuen
Does Methuen have a public library?
Yes. Nevins Memorial Library, 305 Broadway, serves 53,241 people in and around Methuen (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nevins 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 Methuen’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Methuen’s civic life grade?
D− Methuen is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #277 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 Methuen.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.