Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Sudbury’s library lends 18 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Goodnow Library serves Sudbury’s 18,965 residents. Last year it lent 345K print books and media and logged 139K visits.
Sudbury’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 40 items per child in Sudbury last year. Kids & programs ↓
Sudbury uses its library more than almost any town its size
Goodnow Library logs 7.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 18 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Goodnow Library ran 1,434 programs last year, about 28 a week. That’s 76 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 30,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Sudbury ranks 8th in Massachusetts for borrowing
Out of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Sudbury comes 8th for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #17 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Goodnow Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2002. Today’s library there has 31,400 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 Sudbury’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sudbury is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #10 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
130 community nonprofits are registered in Sudbury
6.7 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
17.1%
17.1% of Sudbury’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 Sudbury’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 Sudbury 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.
Goodnow Library serves 18,965 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 104 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
345K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 109K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 2002
Goodnow Library, 21 Concord Road, Sudbury.
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 Sudbury? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Goodnow Library
Goodnow Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 2002. It is significant for its architecture, town planning and education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque and Richardsonian Romanesque and Octagon Mode.
The Goodnow Library is an historic public library building located at 21 Concord Road in Sudbury, Massachusetts. It is named for Sudbury-native John Goodnow II, who died in 1851 and left to the town of Sudbury a 3-acre (1.2 ha) site for a library, $2,500 to build it, and $20,000 to buy books and to maintain it. Construction of the two-story octagon-shaped building began in 1862 and was finished in 1863.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sudbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 10,527 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sudbury ranks 2nd of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concord | Concord Free Public Library fine-free | 18.8 | 100 | A+ |
| Sudbury | Goodnow Library fine-free | 18.2 | 64 | A+ |
| Wayland | Wayland Free Public Library fine-free | 13.2 | 62 | A− |
| Maynard | Maynard Public Library fine-free | 11.8 | 39 | A− |
| Hudson | Hudson Public Library fine-free | 7.4 | 60 | C |
| Framingham | Framingham Public Library fine-free | 6.3 | — | C |
| Stow | Randall Library fine-free | 5.1 | 37 | A− |
| Marlborough | Marlborough Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 57 | 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.
- 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 Sudbury
Does Sudbury have a public library?
Yes. Goodnow Library, 21 Concord Road, serves Sudbury’s 18,965 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Goodnow 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 Sudbury’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 18.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sudbury’s civic life grade?
A+ Sudbury is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Sudbury.
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.