page_title: Harvard, Massachusetts
section_title: Library
hierarchical_section_title: Harvard, Massachusetts / Library
caption_attribution_description: English: Harvard Public Library, Massachusetts
context_page_description: Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The town is located 25 miles west-northwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian transcendentalist center Fruitlands. It is also home to St. Benedict Abbey, a traditional Catholic monastery. Today it is an affluent residential town noted for its excellent public schools, with its students consistently ranking in the state's top ten test results in English and math. The population was 6,520 at the 2010 census. The official seal of the town depicts the old town public library on The Common prior to renovations that removed the front steps.
context_section_description: The public library of Harvard opened in 1856. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Harvard spent 2.41% ($487,470) of its budget on its public library—some $81 per person and since then the library has undergone multiple renovations.
caption: Harvard public library, 1891; the basis for the official seal of the town
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