Woods Hole Public Library
Woods Hole Public Library serves 332 people in and around Woods Hole. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
The short version on Woods Hole’s library
More library cards than residents
1,549 cards for 332 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 ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
90% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 9%. What your card is worth ↓
Woods Hole uses its library more than almost any town its size
Woods Hole Public Library logs 64 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 49 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
18 times the programs of a typical library its size
Woods Hole Public Library ran 349 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 1,051 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,664 attended. 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.
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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
16K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 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.
Woods Hole Public Library serves 332 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Woods Hole cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $258K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $258K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $258K 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 1,549 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Woods Hole Public Library, 581 Woods Hole Rd., Woods Hole.
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 Woods Hole? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Woods Hole borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. 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 Woods Hole.
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.