Photo: Daderot at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Swampscott’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Swampscott Public Library serves Swampscott’s 15,280 residents. Last year it lent 159K print books and media and logged 55K visits.
Swampscott’s library, in brief
Swampscott out-borrows every town next door
At 10 loans per resident, Swampscott leads the four towns here. The closest is Salem, at 5.9. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 28 items per child in Swampscott last year. Kids & programs ↓
Swampscott is a town of borrowers
Swampscott Public Library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
21,000 people came to the library’s 829 programs last year: 1.4 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. 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 Swampscott’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Swampscott is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #141 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Swampscott’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in Swampscott
4.3 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Swampscott’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 Swampscott’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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 Swampscott 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.
Swampscott Public Library serves 15,280 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 56 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
159K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 78K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Swampscott Public Library, 61 Burrill St., Swampscott.
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 Swampscott? 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 $3.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Swampscott cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $841K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $841K 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 7,707 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Swampscott borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swampscott | Swampscott Public Library fine-free | 10.4 | 54 | B |
| Salem | Salem Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 64 | C+ |
| Marblehead | Abbot Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 47 | A− |
| Lynn | Lynn Public Library fine-free | 0.6 | 56 | D− |
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. Swampscott 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 Swampscott
Does Swampscott have a public library?
Yes. Swampscott Public Library, 61 Burrill St., serves Swampscott’s 15,280 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Swampscott 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 Swampscott’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 10.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Swampscott’s civic life grade?
B Swampscott is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #141 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 Swampscott.
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.