Harwich Port Library Assoc.
Harwich Port Library Assoc. serves 137 people in and around Harwich Port. Last year it lent 2,467 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,309 visits.
What Harwich Port’s library is like
More library cards than residents
918 cards for 137 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Harwich Port uses its library more than almost any town its size
Harwich Port Library Assoc. logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 18 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
Harwich Port Library Assoc. keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Brooks Free Library in Harwich, next door, is open about 46 hours a week. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
43% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 32%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Harwich Port Library Assoc. serves 137 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 ↓
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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 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.
Harwich Port Library Assoc. serves 137 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
2,467 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harwich Port cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $43K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 918 cardholders ÷ 12.
18 programs a year
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
Harwich Port Library Assoc., 49 Lower Bank St., Harwich Port.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Harwich Port borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harwich Port | Harwich Port Library Assoc. fine-free | 18.0 | 13 |
| Harwich | Brooks Free Library fine-free | 14.6 | 46 |
| Harwich Center | Brooks Free Library fine-free | 14.6 | 46 |
| Chatham | Eldredge Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 42 |
| Northwest Harwich | Chase Library Assoc., Inc. fine-free | 7.8 | 10 |
| East Harwich | 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 Harwich 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.