Ipswich State Bank · Photo: Empire Art Company · Public domainIpswich’s library runs 197 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
M. P. Beebe Memorial Library serves Ipswich’s 947 residents. Last year it lent 4,723 books, movies and e-books and drew 3,149 people to its programs.
The short version on Ipswich’s library
Most of Ipswich’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 58% of loans, more per resident than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 42%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
M. P. Beebe Memorial Library serves 947 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 53% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
3,149 people came to the library’s 187 programs last year: 3.3 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Ipswich’s civic life grade
Ipswich 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 →
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 Ipswich last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
M. P. Beebe Memorial Library serves 947 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 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.
58% of borrowing is digital
4,723 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
2,734 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
M. P. Beebe Memorial Library, 120 Main, Ipswich.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ipswich? 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 $2.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ipswich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $41K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $102K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $41K 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 469 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. M. P. Beebe Memorial Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2023 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Ipswich
Does Ipswich have a public library?
Yes. M. P. Beebe Memorial Library, 120 Main, serves Ipswich’s 947 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is M. P. Beebe Memorial 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 Ipswich’s library?
It lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 187 programs that drew 3,149 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Ipswich’s civic life grade?
Ipswich 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 Ipswich.
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.