Rotch, William J., Gothic Cottage · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0New Bedford’s library runs 11 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
New Bedford Free Public Library serves New Bedford’s 100,682 residents from 5 locations. Last year it lent 170K print books and media and logged 167K visits.
New Bedford’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
New Bedford’s library lends 1.7 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Acushnet at 6.8. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 1,134 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 433 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Five places to borrow in New Bedford
New Bedford Free Public Library runs five locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 New Bedford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, New Bedford is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #262 of 283 in Massachusetts. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #236. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
234 community nonprofits are registered in New Bedford
2.3 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 (67 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of New Bedford’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 New Bedford’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
New Bedford Free Public Library serves 100,682 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at New Bedford Free Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
170K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 218K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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 New Bedford last year.
5 places to borrow in New Bedford
New Bedford Free Public Library, 613 Pleasant Street, New Bedford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Bedford? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in New Bedford
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Bedford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 24,762 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New Bedford ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet | Acushnet Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 43 | C |
| Dartmouth | Dartmouth Public Libraries | 6.4 | 97 | B− |
| Bliss Corner | Dartmouth Public Libraries | 6.4 | 97 | — graded as part of its town |
| Smith Mills | North Branch Library | 6.4 | 41 | — graded as part of its town |
| Fairhaven | Millicent Library fine-free | 5.3 | 51 | B− |
| New Bedford | New Bedford Free Public Library | 1.7 | — | C− |
| Acushnet Center | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 New Bedford
Does New Bedford have a public library?
Yes. New Bedford Free Public Library, 613 Pleasant Street, serves New Bedford’s 100,682 residents (the survey’s count).
Is New Bedford 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 New Bedford’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is New Bedford’s civic life grade?
C− New Bedford is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #262 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 New Bedford.
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.