#1Provincetown
Barnstable County · 3,729 peopleVisits per resident a year·Provincetown Public Library, FY 2024
Provincetown, #1 on this list · Photo: WestportWiki · CC BY-SA 3.0Massachusetts rankings · Libraries
Towns with the most-used libraries in Massachusetts
Provincetown has the most-used library of Massachusetts’ 263 towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own: 27.5 visits per resident a year at Provincetown Public Library (IMLS Public Libraries Survey). The typical library here counts 4.1.
IMLS Public Libraries Survey: a year’s visits divided by the people the library serves. Only a library that serves one town (80–125% of its population) and reported its own count is ranked; IMLS estimates never are. A described list: no letters. How grades work
#127.5visits
#2West Tisbury
Dukes County · 3,645 peopleVisits per resident a year·West Tisbury Free Public Library, FY 2024
#3Chatham
Barnstable County · 6,752 peopleVisits per resident a year·Eldredge Public Library, FY 2024
All 263 towns
Visits per resident, highest first.
263 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.
#TownVisits per residentPeople servedLibrary
39Manchester-by-the-SeaEssex County · 5,475 people5,354Manchester-By-The-Sea Pub. LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
125Amherst Town College campusHampshire County · 40,920 people40,059Jones Library, Inc.IMLS, FY 2024
159MedfordMiddlesex County · 59,834 people65,399Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
184West Springfield TownHampden County · 28,829 people28,501West Springfield Public LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
186East BridgewaterPlymouth County · 14,602 people14,338East Bridgewater Public LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
234North Attleborough TownBristol County · 31,506 people30,930Richards Memorial LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which Massachusetts town has the most-used library?
Provincetown (Barnstable County): Provincetown Public Library counts 27.5 visits per resident a year. West Tisbury (26.9) and Chatham (19.8) follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By library visits per resident in the IMLS Public Libraries Survey: the visits a town’s own library reported, divided by the population it serves, highest first. It is the same rank as on each town’s Library & civic life page. How grades work.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own that reported its visits (263 in Massachusetts). Towns served by a county or regional system share its figure and aren’t ranked one by one; figures IMLS estimated for a library that didn’t report aren’t ranked; in states with strong townships the township, not a village inside it, is ranked. Every town is on the Massachusetts page.
Go deeper
All Massachusetts rankings →More Massachusetts lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
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