Photo: Daderot · Public domainWeston’s library lends 24 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Weston Public Library serves Weston’s 11,661 residents. Last year it lent 275K print books and media and logged 127K visits.
The short version on Weston’s library
Weston ranks 3rd in Massachusetts for borrowing
Out of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Weston comes 3rd for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #5 for kids’ borrowing and #16 for library use. How it compares ↓
Weston uses its library more than almost any town its size
Weston Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 24 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 52 items per child in Weston last year. Kids & programs ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Weston Public Library ran 1,707 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 146 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 11,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
44% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 55%. What your card is worth ↓
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 Weston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Weston is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #71 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
103 community nonprofits are registered in Weston
8.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
5.8%
5.8% of Weston’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 Weston’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 Weston 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.
Weston Public Library serves 11,661 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 81 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
275K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 139K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Weston Public Library, 87 School Street, Weston.
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 Weston? 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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Weston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.2M 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 6,406 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Weston borrows the most per resident of the 7 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weston | Weston Public Library fine-free | 23.5 | 65 | A− |
| Lincoln | Lincoln Public Library fine-free | 18.5 | 55 | A+ |
| Wellesley | Wellesley Free Library fine-free | 18.1 | — | A− |
| Newton | Newton Free Library fine-free | 14.1 | 65 | A |
| Wayland | Wayland Free Public Library fine-free | 13.2 | 62 | A− |
| Natick | Morse Institute Library fine-free | 12.6 | 64 | B |
| Waltham | Waltham Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 64 | B− |
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 Weston
Does Weston have a public library?
Yes. Weston Public Library, 87 School Street, serves Weston’s 11,661 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Weston 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 Weston’s library?
It logged 10.9 visits and lent 23.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Weston’s civic life grade?
A− Weston is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #71 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 Weston.
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.