Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0Takoma Park’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Takoma Park Maryland Library serves Takoma Park’s 17,464 residents. Last year it lent 42K print books and media and drew 5,466 people to its programs.
Takoma Park’s library, in brief
Well funded, but lightly used
Takoma Park Maryland Library spends $86 per resident, more than 85% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: borrowing per resident is lower than at 70% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 52% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
82% of Takoma Park carry a library card
14,320 cards for 17,464 people, or 82%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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 Takoma Park’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Takoma Park is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #5 of 67 in Maryland. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Takoma Park is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Takoma Park’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Takoma Park’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
112 community nonprofits are registered in Takoma Park
6.4 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 (28 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 12 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of Takoma Park’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.2% in the typical Maryland 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 Takoma Park’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Takoma Park Maryland Library serves 17,464 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
42K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
206 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Takoma Park last year.
Find it
Takoma Park Maryland Library, 7505 New Hampshire Avenue, Suite 20, Takoma Park.
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 Takoma Park? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Takoma Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $620K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 14,320 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library fine-free | 9.5 | 64 | A |
| Takoma Park | Takoma Park Maryland Library fine-free | 2.4 | 56 | A− |
| Silver Spring | Brigadier General Charles E Mcgee (Sliver Spring) Branch fine-free | — | 61 | — unincorporated |
| Chillum | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Langley Park | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Takoma Park Maryland Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’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 Takoma Park
Does Takoma Park have a public library?
Yes. Takoma Park Maryland Library, 7505 New Hampshire Avenue, Suite 20, serves Takoma Park’s 17,464 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Takoma Park Maryland 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 Takoma Park’s library?
It lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 206 programs that drew 5,466 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Takoma Park’s civic life grade?
A− Takoma Park is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #5 of 67 in Maryland. 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 Takoma Park.
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.