Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Charlestown’s library runs 106 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Cross' Mills Public Library serves Charlestown’s 7,997 residents. Last year it lent 94K books, movies and e-books and logged 58K visits.
Charlestown’s library, in brief
Charlestown ranks 3rd in Rhode Island for borrowing
Out of 31 Rhode Island towns with a library of their own, Charlestown comes 3rd for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #3 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Cross' Mills Public Library ran 845 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 106 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 14,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Charlestown uses its library more than almost any town its size
Cross' Mills Public Library logs 7.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Charlestown out-borrows every town next door
At 12 loans per resident, Charlestown leads the six towns here. The closest is Westerly, at 10. Libraries next door ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. 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 Charlestown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Charlestown is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #3 of 38 in Rhode Island. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Charlestown
5.0 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Charlestown’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.4% in the typical Rhode Island 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 Charlestown’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cross' Mills Public Library serves 7,997 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 43 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
94K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times last year, on average.
22,217 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Charlestown last year.
Find it
Cross' Mills Public Library, 4417 Old Post Road, Charlestown.
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 Charlestown? 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 $3.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Charlestown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $415K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $415K 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 3,827 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Charlestown borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlestown | Cross' Mills Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 42 | A− |
| Westerly | Westerly Public Library | 10.3 | 57 | B+ |
| South Kingstown | South Kingstown Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 52 | B |
| Hopkinton | Langworthy Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 33 | B |
| Richmond | Clark Memorial Library | 4.6 | 37 | B− |
| Carolina | Clark Memorial Library | 4.6 | 37 | — graded as part of its town |
| Bradford | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Charlestown
Does Charlestown have a public library?
Yes. Cross' Mills Public Library, 4417 Old Post Road, serves Charlestown’s 7,997 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cross' Mills 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 Charlestown’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 11.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Charlestown’s civic life grade?
A− Charlestown is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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 Charlestown.
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.