Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainTownsend’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Townsend Public Library serves Townsend’s 8,948 residents. Last year it lent 119K print books and media and logged 115K visits.
The short version on Townsend’s library
Townsend uses its library more than almost any town its size
Townsend Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Townsend out-borrows every town next door
At 13 loans per resident, Townsend leads the five towns here. The closest is Brookline, at 6.9. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 32 items per child in Townsend last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for library use
Townsend ranks #11 of 263 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 13 visits per resident, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
13,000 people came to the library’s 567 programs last year: 1.5 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 90% 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 Townsend’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Townsend is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #47 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Townsend
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of Townsend’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 Townsend’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 51 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Townsend Public Library serves 8,948 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
119K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 71K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Townsend last year.
Find it
Townsend Public Library, 12 Dudley Rd., Townsend.
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 Townsend? 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 $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Townsend cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $723K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $723K 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 6,795 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Townsend borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
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. Townsend 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 Townsend
Does Townsend have a public library?
Yes. Townsend Public Library, 12 Dudley Rd., serves Townsend’s 8,948 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Townsend 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 Townsend’s library?
It logged 12.9 visits and lent 13.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Townsend’s civic life grade?
A Townsend is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #47 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 Townsend.
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.