Photo: WestportWiki · CC BY-SA 3.0Provincetown’s library logs 27 visits per resident, the tenth-highest of 3,790 U.S. town libraries
Provincetown Public Library serves Provincetown’s 3,723 residents. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 102K visits.
Provincetown’s library, in brief
Provincetown has the most-used library in Massachusetts
Out of 263 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Provincetown comes first for visits per resident. It’s also #24 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 99% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 49%. The building also logs about 42 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 94% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
More library cards than residents
4,202 cards for 3,723 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 ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Provincetown Public Library ran 578 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 155 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 6,887 attended. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Provincetown Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Today’s library there has 10,990 square feet. The building ↓
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 Provincetown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Provincetown is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Provincetown Public Library logged 27.5 visits per resident in FY2024, #10 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
59 community nonprofits are registered in Provincetown
15.9 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 (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.
11.3%
11.3% of Provincetown’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 Provincetown’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Provincetown Public Library serves 3,723 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
578 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Provincetown last year.
A National Register landmark since 1975
Provincetown Public Library, 356 Commercial St., Provincetown.
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 Provincetown? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Provincetown Public Library
Provincetown Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 21, 1975. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Italianate.
The Old Provincetown Public Library building is a historic building at 330 Commercial Street in downtown Provincetown, Massachusetts. Built in 1874, it served as the town's public library from then until 2002, when the library was moved to the former Center Methodist Church. The building, a fine local example of Second Empire architecture, now houses the local tourist board.
More about the building →What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Provincetown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $565K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $330K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $565K 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 4,202 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truro | Truro Public Library fine-free | 19.5 | 37 | A− |
| Provincetown | Provincetown Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 50 | A+ |
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 count everyone. Provincetown’s 102,342 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- 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 Provincetown
Does Provincetown have a public library?
Yes. Provincetown Public Library, 356 Commercial St., serves Provincetown’s 3,723 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Provincetown 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 Provincetown’s library?
It logged 27.5 visits and lent 3.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Its visits per resident rank #10 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Provincetown’s civic life grade?
A+ Provincetown is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Provincetown.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.