Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Newton’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Newton Free Library serves Newton’s 87,381 residents. Last year it lent 1.2M print books and media and logged 447K visits.
What Newton’s library is like
Newton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Newton Free Library logs 5.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 30 items per child in Newton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for borrowing
Newton ranks #26 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 14 items per resident, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
Newton Free Library is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 365 items go out. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 1,944 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 612 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 Newton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Newton is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #45 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Newton’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
560 community nonprofits are registered in Newton
6.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (76 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 51 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.0%
10.0% of Newton’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 Newton’s residents live; 2022.
About 12 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 Newton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Newton Free Library serves 87,381 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 365 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.2M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 384K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton.
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 Newton? 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 $2.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.3M 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 42,911 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Newton ranks 4th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weston | Weston Public Library fine-free | 23.5 | 65 | A− |
| Watertown | Watertown Free Public Library fine-free | 20.2 | 70 | C+ |
| Wellesley | Wellesley Free Library fine-free | 18.1 | — | A− |
| Newton | Newton Free Library fine-free | 14.1 | 65 | A |
| Needham | Needham Free Public Library fine-free | 13.8 | 65 | A− |
| Brookline | Brookline Public Library fine-free | 13.0 | — | A− |
| Waltham | Waltham Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 64 | B− |
| Boston | Boston Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | — | C |
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 Newton
Does Newton have a public library?
Yes. Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, serves Newton’s 87,381 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newton Free 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 Newton’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 14.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Newton’s civic life grade?
A Newton is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #45 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 Newton.
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.