Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Williamsburg’s library lends 18 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Meekins Public Library serves Williamsburg’s 2,469 residents. Last year it lent 45K print books and media and logged 23K visits.
The short version on Williamsburg’s library
More library cards than residents
2,955 cards for 2,469 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Williamsburg out-borrows every town next door
At 18 loans per resident, Williamsburg leads the five towns here. The closest is Hatfield, at 8.3. Libraries next door ↓
Williamsburg uses its library more than almost any town its size
Meekins Public Library logs 9.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 18 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for borrowing
Williamsburg ranks #9 of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 18 items per resident, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 35% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 31 items per child in Williamsburg last year. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Williamsburg’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Williamsburg is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs put Williamsburg near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Williamsburg
9.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
17.6%
17.6% of Williamsburg’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 Williamsburg’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
45K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 47K 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Meekins Public Library serves 2,469 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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 Williamsburg last year.
Find it
Meekins Public Library, 2 Williams St., Williamsburg.
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 Williamsburg? 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 $2.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Williamsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $332K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $731K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $332K 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 2,955 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Williamsburg borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamsburg | Meekins Public Library fine-free | 18.2 | 22 | A+ |
| Hatfield | Hatfield Public Library fine-free | 8.3 | 29 | A− |
| Chesterfield | Chesterfield Public Library fine-free | 5.7 | 14 | A− |
| Whately | S. White Dickinson Memorial Library fine-free | 4.6 | 24 | A− |
| Goshen | Goshen Free Public Library | 1.3 | 12 | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Williamsburg
Does Williamsburg have a public library?
Yes. Meekins Public Library, 2 Williams St., serves Williamsburg’s 2,469 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Meekins 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 Williamsburg’s library?
It logged 9.4 visits and lent 18.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Williamsburg’s civic life grade?
A+ Williamsburg is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Williamsburg.
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.