Photo: Elkman at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Oak Bluffs’ library runs 168 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Oak Bluffs Public Library serves Oak Bluffs’s 5,379 residents. Last year it lent 74K print books and media and logged 57K visits.
What Oak Bluffs’s library is like
More library cards than residents
6,258 cards for 5,379 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Oak Bluffs uses its library more than almost any town its size
Oak Bluffs Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Oak Bluffs Public Library ran 904 programs last year, about 17 a week. That’s 168 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 16,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Oak Bluffs last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for library use
Oak Bluffs ranks #18 of 263 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 11 visits per resident, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries nationwide. 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 Oak Bluffs’ civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Oak Bluffs is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 283 in Massachusetts. Oak Bluffs is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Oak Bluffs near the top nationally; Oak Bluffs’ 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 →
71 community nonprofits are registered in Oak Bluffs
13.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
About 7 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 Oak Bluffs last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Oak Bluffs Public Library serves 5,379 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
74K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 56K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Oak Bluffs Public Library, 56r School Street, Oak Bluffs.
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 Oak Bluffs? 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 $1.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oak Bluffs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $792K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $792K 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 6,258 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Oak Bluffs ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Oak Bluffs
Does Oak Bluffs have a public library?
Yes. Oak Bluffs Public Library, 56r School Street, serves Oak Bluffs’ 5,379 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oak Bluffs 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 Oak Bluffs’ library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 13.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Oak Bluffs’ civic life grade?
A+ Oak Bluffs is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Oak Bluffs.
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.