Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0Nahant’s library runs 107 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Nahant Public Library serves Nahant’s 3,289 residents. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
What Nahant’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Nahant Public Library ran 352 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 107 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,729 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 352 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nahant out-borrows every town next door
At 4.7 loans per resident, Nahant leads the five towns here. The closest is Winthrop Town, at 3.7. Libraries next door ↓
Nahant invests in its library
Nahant Public Library spends $107 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Nahant’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Nahant is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #92 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Nahant
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Nahant’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 Nahant’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Nahant last year.
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.
Nahant Public Library serves 3,289 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
16K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Nahant Public Library, 15 Pleasant St., Nahant.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Nahant? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nahant cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $352K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $287K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $352K 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 2,144 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Nahant borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nahant | Nahant Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 37 | A− |
| Winthrop Town | Winthrop Public Library & Museum | 3.7 | 48 | C |
| Boston | Boston Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | — | C |
| Lynn | Lynn Public Library fine-free | 0.6 | 56 | D− |
| Revere | Revere Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 64 | 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 Nahant
Does Nahant have a public library?
Yes. Nahant Public Library, 15 Pleasant St., serves Nahant’s 3,289 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nahant 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 Nahant’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 4.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Nahant’s civic life grade?
A− Nahant is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #92 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 Nahant.
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.