Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Pepperell’s library runs 82 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Lawrence Library serves Pepperell’s 11,620 residents. Last year it lent 78K print books and media and logged 59K visits.
What Pepperell’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Lawrence Library ran 950 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 82 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 18,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 950 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 309 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 Pepperell’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Pepperell is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #70 of 283 in Massachusetts. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Pepperell’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Pepperell
3.5 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 (3 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.
14.0%
14.0% of Pepperell’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 Pepperell’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Pepperell last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lawrence Library serves 11,620 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
78K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 70K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lawrence Library, 15 Main St., Pepperell.
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 Pepperell? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pepperell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $760K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $760K 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 6,624 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Pepperell ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groton | Groton Public Library fine-free | 14.6 | 50 | A− |
| Townsend | Townsend Public Library fine-free | 13.2 | 45 | A |
| Hollis | Hollis Social Library fine-free | 8.8 | 45 | B+ |
| Pepperell | Lawrence Library fine-free | 6.7 | 51 | A− |
| Dunstable | Dunstable Free Public Library fine-free | 5.1 | 24 | B− |
| East Pepperell | 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 Pepperell
Does Pepperell have a public library?
Yes. Lawrence Library, 15 Main St., serves Pepperell’s 11,620 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lawrence 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 Pepperell’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 6.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Pepperell’s civic life grade?
A− Pepperell is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #70 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 Pepperell.
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.