Cambridge Public Library
Cambridge Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Cambridge (Middlesex County), Massachusetts, serving a legal service area of 118,488 residents through seven library buildings. Among profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it ranks second for visits per resident, fifth for paid staff per resident, sixth for operating spending per resident and sixth for program attendance per resident.
Among the 354 profiled systems in Massachusetts, it ranks second for total visits, second for physical checkouts, second for operating spending and third for program attendance. Against the median system of its size class, it records 3.7 times the physical checkouts per resident and 2.2 times the public computers per resident.
Cambridge against the 360 systems of its size class
Cambridge since FY 2019
Visits were 1% below the FY 2019 count of 972,339 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 10% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Cambridge programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 61% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 21 people each.
Cambridge in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 963,891
- Physical checkouts
- 1,344,532
- …of children's materials
- 671,455
- Registered users
- 84,192
- Program sessions
- 5,016
- Program attendance
- 104,442
- Print volumes
- 323,691
- Audio items (physical)
- 16,432
- Video items (physical)
- 32,303
- Public computers
- 146
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 21,056
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 125.9
- Operating spending
- $15.1 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.7 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Cambridge gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $19.2 million, or $161.96 per resident. The local-government share sits 13 percentage points above the combined share for the 354 profiled systems in Massachusetts. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Cambridge, building by building
The seven buildings cover 142,946 square feet in total, 1.21 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is Cambridge Public Library at 104,000 square feet; the smallest is Alma Boudreau Branch at 2,000. The longest hours are at Central Square Branch Library, 49.9 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Public Library | Central library | Cambridge | – | 104,000 |
| Alma Boudreau Branch | Branch | Cambridge | 43.4 | 2,000 |
| Central Square Branch Library | Branch | Cambridge | 49.9 | 15,000 |
| Daniel P. Collins Branch Library | Branch | Cambridge | 43.5 | 2,421 |
| Mildred A. O`neill Branch | Branch | Cambridge | 47.3 | 4,400 |
| Salvatore Valente Branch Library | Branch | Cambridge | 47.4 | 10,000 |
| William Cardinal O`connell Branch | Branch | Cambridge | 43.4 | 5,125 |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
None of these six systems records more visits per resident than this one. None of them matches this system's checkouts per resident.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pharr Memorial Library | Pharr, TX | 120,208 | 1.35 | 0.80 | $14.22 |
| Richardson Public Library | Richardson, TX | 117,435 | 1.98 | 5.98 | $36.17 |
| High Point Public Library | High Point, NC | 117,206 | 1.78 | 4.90 | $47.70 |
| Manchester City Library | Manchester, NH | 116,161 | 1.28 | 1.91 | $30.44 |
| Westminster Public Library | Westminster, CO | 115,739 | 3.30 | 3.06 | $44.75 |
| Nampa Public | Nampa, ID | 115,008 | 2.19 | 6.56 | $24.07 |
Nearest in size within Massachusetts
- Samuel S. Pollard Memorial Library · Lowell · 113,608 residents
- Brockton Public Library · Brockton · 104,826 residents
- Thomas Crane Public Library · Quincy · 101,727 residents
- Lynn Public Library · Lynn · 100,891 residents