Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0Plympton’s library lends 5.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Plympton Public Library serves Plympton’s 2,923 residents. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 3,000 visits.
Plympton’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 124 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 27 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Plympton Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 5.6 print items per resident. 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 Plympton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Plympton is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #198 of 283 in Massachusetts. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($95K–$158K) 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Plympton
3.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Plympton’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 Plympton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Plympton Public Library serves 2,923 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
16K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time 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 Plympton last year.
Find it
Plympton Public Library, 248 Main St., Plympton.
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 Plympton? 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 $1.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Plympton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $192K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $258K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $192K 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 843 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Plympton ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | Kingston Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 48 | B+ |
| Plympton | Plympton Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 27 | C+ |
| Pembroke | Pembroke Public Library fine-free | 5.5 | 59 | A− |
| Middleborough | Middleborough Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 51 | C− |
| Halifax | Holmes Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 39 | B− |
| Carver | Carver Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 40 | C |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Plympton Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Plympton
Does Plympton have a public library?
Yes. Plympton Public Library, 248 Main St., serves Plympton’s 2,923 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Plympton 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 Plympton’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 5.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Plympton’s civic life grade?
C+ Plympton is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #198 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 Plympton.
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.