Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Providence’s library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Providence Public Library serves Providence’s 59,190 residents. Last year it lent 152K books, movies and e-books and logged 89K visits.
Providence’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 4%. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Providence Public Library ran 2,663 programs last year, about 51 a week. That’s 45 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Providence Public Library spends $153 per resident, more than 97% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 78% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Providence Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Four of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
74% of the 2,663 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 388 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Providence’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Providence is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #23 of 38 in Rhode Island. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #128. Providence is graded on two of the three inputs. Providence’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$85K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
921 community nonprofits are registered in Providence
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (202 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 46 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.4%
5.4% of Providence’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 Providence’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Providence last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Providence Public Library serves 59,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 59 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
152K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 319K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
51,364 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 places to borrow in Providence
Providence Public Library, 150 Empire Street, Providence.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Providence? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Providence
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Providence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 14,624 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Providence ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranston | Cranston Public Library | 6.8 | 61 | C− |
| East Providence | East Providence Public Library fine-free | 6.1 | 63 | C |
| North Providence | Mayor Salvatore Mancini Union Free Library fine-free | 4.9 | 55 | D |
| Providence | Providence Public Library | 2.6 | 50 | C+ |
| Johnston | Marian J. Mohr Memorial Library fine-free | 2.4 | 57 | D− |
| Pawtucket | Pawtucket Public Library fine-free | 1.9 | 63 | 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 Providence
Does Providence have a public library?
Yes. Providence Public Library, 150 Empire Street, serves Providence’s 59,190 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Providence Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Providence’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Providence’s civic life grade?
C+ Providence is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #23 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 Providence.
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.