Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0West Concord’s library runs 60 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
West Concord Public Library serves 2,517 people in and around West Concord. Last year it lent 9,771 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,860 visits.
What West Concord’s library is like
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
30% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 150 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 67 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 84% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; West Concord Public Library serves 2,517 people in and around West Concord, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind West Concord’s civic life grade
West Concord isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
West Concord Public Library serves 2,517 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Concord Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
9,771 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
543 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
West Concord Public Library, 180 E Main Street, West Concord.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every West Concord Public Library branch.
New in West Concord? 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 $1.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Concord cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $89K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $162K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $89K 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 542 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. West Concord Public Library serves 2,517 people in and around West Concord, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just West Concord.
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 West Concord
Does West Concord have a public library?
Yes. West Concord Public Library, 180 E Main Street, serves 2,517 people in and around West Concord (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Concord 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 West Concord’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is West Concord’s civic life grade?
West Concord isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in West Concord.
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.