Stanley Tavern · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Hopkinton’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Hopkinton Town Library serves Hopkinton’s 5,992 residents. Last year it lent 89K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
Hopkinton’s library, in brief
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 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 33 items per child in Hopkinton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Hopkinton out-borrows every town next door
At 15 loans per resident, Hopkinton leads the eight towns here. The closest is Bow, at 8.8. Libraries next door ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 26% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Top 10% in New Hampshire for kids’ borrowing
Hopkinton ranks #4 of 108 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Hopkinton is a town of borrowers
Hopkinton Town Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 93% 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.
What’s behind Hopkinton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hopkinton is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #31 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hopkinton’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Hopkinton
6.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
9.3%
9.3% of Hopkinton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical New Hampshire 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 Hopkinton’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Hopkinton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hopkinton Town Library serves 5,992 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
23,508 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hopkinton Town Library, 61 Houston Drive, Contoocook.
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 Hopkinton? 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 $3.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hopkinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $346K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $346K 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 3,396 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hopkinton borrows the most per resident of the 8 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkinton | Hopkinton Town Library fine-free | 14.9 | 38 | A− |
| Bow | Baker Free Library fine-free | 8.8 | 54 | B+ |
| Henniker | Tucker Free Library fine-free | 7.3 | 29 | B |
| Warner | Pillsbury Free Library fine-free | 7.2 | 33 | A− |
| Concord | Concord Public Library | 5.7 | 56 | A− |
| Weare | Weare Public Library | 5.2 | 45 | B− |
| Dunbarton | Dunbarton Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 32 | C |
| Webster | Webster Free Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 22 | D |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Hopkinton
Does Hopkinton have a public library?
Yes. Hopkinton Town Library, 61 Houston Drive, serves Hopkinton’s 5,992 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hopkinton Town 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 Hopkinton’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 14.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hopkinton’s civic life grade?
A− Hopkinton is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Hopkinton.
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.