Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Newton’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Newton Town Library serves Newton’s 829 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,382 visits.
What Newton’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 81% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Newton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Newton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Newton Town Library logs 8.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 38% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Newton Town Library serves 829 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
Newton Town Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Newton’s civic life grade
Newton 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 1 kids’ program 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 Newton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Newton Town Library serves 829 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
7,474 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Newton Town Library, 51 South Center Street, Newton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Newton? 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 $7.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $45K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $333K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45K 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 287 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Newton
Does Newton have a public library?
Yes. Newton Town Library, 51 South Center Street, serves Newton’s 829 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newton 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 Newton’s library?
It logged 8.9 visits and lent 24.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Newton’s civic life grade?
Newton 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 Newton.
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.