Photo: David M. Green · CC BY-SA 3.0Onset’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Wareham Free Library serves 23,151 people in and around Onset. Last year it lent 82K print books and media and logged 50K visits.
The short version on Onset’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Wareham Free Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Wareham Free Library serves more than Onset
The library’s service area covers 23,151 people in and around Onset, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
59% of the 297 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 65 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 Onset’s civic life grade
Onset isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Wareham Free Library serves 23,151 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
82K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 80K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Spinney Branch, 259 Onset Avenue, Onset.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Onset? 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 $2.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Onset cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $497K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $497K 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 6,761 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Onset
Does Onset have a public library?
Yes. Wareham Free Library, 259 Onset Avenue, serves 23,151 people in and around Onset (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wareham Free 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 Onset’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Onset’s civic life grade?
Onset isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Onset.
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.