Hanover’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hanover Public serves Hanover’s 688 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,602 visits.
The short version on Hanover’s library
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 61 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Hanover last year. Kids & programs ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Hanover Public spends $36 per resident, less than 73% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still busier than 90% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Hanover is a town of borrowers
Hanover Public lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Hanover Public serves 688 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.
What’s behind Hanover’s civic life grade
Hanover isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
About 1 kids’ program 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Hanover last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hanover Public serves 688 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: funding. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
2,426 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hanover Public, 205 Jackson Street, Hanover.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hanover? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $7.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hanover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $188K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 523 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: funding. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Hanover Public counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Hanover
Does Hanover have a public library?
Yes. Hanover Public, 205 Jackson Street, serves Hanover’s 688 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hanover Public fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hanover’s library?
It logged 8.1 visits and lent 18.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hanover’s civic life grade?
Hanover isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Hanover.
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.