Scituate Town Library
Scituate Town Library serves 19,190 people in and around North Scituate. Last year it lent 207K books, movies and e-books and logged 124K visits.
What North Scituate’s library is like
North Scituate uses its library more than almost any town its size
Scituate Town Library logs 6.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Scituate Town Library serves more than North Scituate
The library’s service area covers 19,190 people in and around North Scituate, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Scituate Town Library logs about 2,582 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 16 public computers. That’s 49 sessions per resident a year. 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.
About 3 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.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
207K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 81K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Scituate cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 8,354 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Scituate Town Library, 85 Branch St., Scituate.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Scituate? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 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.
Scituate Town Library serves 19,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Libraries next door
North Scituate ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 North Scituate.
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.