Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Orleans’ library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Snow Library serves Orleans’s 6,422 residents. Last year it lent 122K print books and media and logged 92K visits.
The short version on Orleans’s library
Orleans uses its library more than almost any town its size
Snow Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Orleans ranks 5th in Massachusetts for borrowing
Out of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Orleans comes 5th for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #7 for library use and #20 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
6,518 cards for 6,422 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 ↓
Orleans out-borrows every town next door
At 19 loans per resident, Orleans leads the five towns here. The closest is Eastham, at 18. Libraries next door ↓
Programs draw a crowd
13,000 people came to the library’s 553 programs last year: 2 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. 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 Orleans’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Orleans is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #30 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
77 community nonprofits are registered in Orleans
12.0 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.8%
7.8% of Orleans’ 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 Orleans’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Snow Library serves 6,422 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
122K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Orleans last year.
Find it
Snow Library, 67 Main St., Orleans.
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 Orleans? 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 $2.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orleans cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $927K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $927K 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 6,518 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Orleans borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orleans | Snow Library fine-free | 19.1 | 45 | A |
| Eastham | Eastham Public Library fine-free | 17.9 | 41 | A |
| Harwich | Brooks Free Library fine-free | 14.6 | 46 | A− |
| Brewster | Brewster Ladies' Library fine-free | 13.8 | 40 | A |
| Chatham | Eldredge Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 42 | A |
| East Harwich | 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 Orleans
Does Orleans have a public library?
Yes. Snow Library, 67 Main St., serves Orleans’ 6,422 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Snow 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 Orleans’ library?
It logged 14.4 visits and lent 19.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Orleans’ civic life grade?
A Orleans is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #30 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 Orleans.
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.