Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Wareham’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Wareham Free Library serves Wareham’s 23,151 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 82K print books and media and logged 50K visits.
The short version on Wareham’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Wareham Free Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Wareham Free Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All six libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
59% of the 297 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 65 were for children. 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 Wareham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wareham is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #237 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Wareham’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Wareham Free Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($68K–$113K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
83 community nonprofits are registered in Wareham
3.6 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Wareham’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 Wareham’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Wareham Free Library serves 23,151 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
82K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 80K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Wareham last year.
2 places to borrow in Wareham
Wareham Free Library, 59 Marion Road, Wareham.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wareham? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Wareham
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wareham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $497K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $497K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 6,761 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wareham ranks 6th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | Elizabeth Taber Library fine-free | 6.3 | 46 | A− |
| Rochester | Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library fine-free | 6.2 | 38 | B |
| Middleborough | Middleborough Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 51 | C− |
| Bourne | Jonathan Bourne Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 54 | C |
| Plymouth | Plymouth Public Library fine-free | 4.2 | 87 | B− |
| Wareham | Wareham Free Library | 3.5 | 55 | C− |
| Carver | Carver Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 40 | C |
| Weweantic | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Buzzards Bay | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| West Wareham | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| White Island Shores | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Wareham
Does Wareham have a public library?
Yes. Wareham Free Library, 59 Marion Road, serves Wareham’s 23,151 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wareham Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wareham’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Wareham’s civic life grade?
C− Wareham is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on civic life, #237 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 Wareham.
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.