Dennis Public Library
Dennis Public Library serves 8,950 people in and around Dennis Port. Last year it lent 71K books, movies and e-books and logged 63K visits.
Dennis Port’s library, in brief
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Dennis Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Dennis Public Library serves more than Dennis Port
The library’s service area covers 8,950 people in and around Dennis Port, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Dennis Public Library logs about 200 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 21 public computers. That’s 8.2 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 284 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 106 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Dennis Port invests in its library
Dennis Public Library spends $86 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
71K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 41K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dennis Port cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $773K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $773K 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 5,248 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Dennis Public Library serves 8,950 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
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.
Find it
Dennis Public Library, 5 Hall St., Dennis Port.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dennis Port? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Dennis Port ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis | Dennis Memorial Library Assoc. fine-free | 31.1 | 34 |
| Harwich | Brooks Free Library fine-free | 14.6 | 46 |
| West Dennis | West Dennis Free Public Library fine-free | 9.6 | 23 |
| Dennis Port | Dennis Public Library | 7.9 | 37 |
| Northwest Harwich | Chase Library Assoc., Inc. fine-free | 7.8 | 10 |
| South Dennis | None of its own | — | — |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- 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.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Dennis Port.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.