Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainNorth Attleborough Town’s library runs 7.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Richards Memorial Library serves North Attleborough Town’s 30,930 residents. Last year it lent 75K print books and media and logged 48K visits.
The short version on North Attleborough Town’s library
Every town next door borrows more
North Attleborough Town’s library lends 2.4 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Cumberland at 8.2. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Richards Memorial Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
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 North Attleborough Town’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Attleborough Town is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #273 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; North Attleborough Town’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($84K–$141K) 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 →
80 community nonprofits are registered in North Attleborough Town
2.6 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.5%
5.5% of North Attleborough Town’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 North Attleborough Town’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Richards Memorial Library serves 30,930 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
75K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 North Attleborough Town last year.
Find it
Richards Memorial Library, 118 North Washington Street, North Attleborough.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Attleborough Town? 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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Attleborough Town cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $818K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $818K budget.
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 8,773 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Attleborough Town ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | Cumberland Public Library fine-free | 8.2 | 57 | C |
| Plainville | Plainville Public Library | 6.9 | 38 | C |
| Attleboro | Attleboro Public Library fine-free | 3.3 | 53 | C− |
| North Attleborough Town | Richards Memorial Library | 2.4 | 53 | 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 North Attleborough Town
Does North Attleborough Town have a public library?
Yes. Richards Memorial Library, 118 North Washington Street, serves North Attleborough Town’s 30,930 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
How busy is North Attleborough Town’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is North Attleborough Town’s civic life grade?
D North Attleborough Town is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #273 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 North Attleborough Town.
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.