Colburn School-High Street Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Westwood’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Westwood Public Library serves Westwood’s 16,231 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 228K print books and media and logged 139K visits.
What Westwood’s library is like
Westwood uses its library more than almost any town its size
Westwood Public Library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% 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 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 30 items per child in Westwood last year. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 89 hours a week
The main library is open about 89 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out. The buildings ↓
Westwood out-borrows every town next door
At 14.0 loans per resident, Westwood leads the seven towns here. The closest is Needham, at 13.8. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 844 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 298 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 Westwood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Westwood is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #109 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 →
83 community nonprofits are registered in Westwood
5.1 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.6%
5.6% of Westwood’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 Westwood’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Westwood 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.
Westwood Public Library serves 16,231 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
228K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 105K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Westwood
Westwood Public Library, 660 High St., Westwood.
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 Westwood? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Westwood
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 9,574 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Westwood 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westwood | Westwood Public Library fine-free | 14.0 | 89 | B+ |
| Needham | Needham Free Public Library fine-free | 13.8 | 65 | A− |
| Dover | Dover Town Library fine-free | 12.5 | 51 | A− |
| Norwood | Morrill Memorial Library fine-free | 8.1 | 63 | C+ |
| Canton | Canton Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 54 | B |
| Walpole | Walpole Public Library | 6.3 | 55 | A |
| Dedham | Dedham Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 99 | 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 Westwood
Does Westwood have a public library?
Yes. Westwood Public Library, 660 High St., serves Westwood’s 16,231 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 89 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Westwood 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 Westwood’s library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 14.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Westwood’s civic life grade?
B+ Westwood is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #109 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 Westwood.
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.