Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Augusta’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Lithgow Public Library serves Augusta’s 19,102 residents. Last year it lent 119K print books and media and logged 90K visits.
What stands out about Augusta’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Augusta’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Augusta is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #27 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Augusta’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
243 community nonprofits are registered in Augusta
12.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Augusta’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.0% in the typical Maine town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Augusta’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1974
Lithgow Public Library, 45 Winthrop Street, Augusta.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Augusta? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Lithgow Library
Lithgow Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 24, 1974. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival.
The Lithgow Public Library is the public library of Augusta, Maine. Established in 1896, and expanded in 1979 and 2016, it holds about 67,000 books.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lithgow Public Library serves 19,102 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 43 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
119K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 75K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Augusta last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Augusta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $949K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $949K 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 8,624 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Augusta borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta | Lithgow Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 53 | A− |
| Hallowell | Hubbard Free Library fine-free | 4.4 | 25 | A+ |
| Vassalboro | Vassalboro Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 38 | C+ |
| Manchester | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Chelsea | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Sidney | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Augusta
Does Augusta have a public library?
Yes. Lithgow Public Library, 45 Winthrop Street, serves Augusta’s 19,102 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lithgow Public Library 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 Augusta’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 6.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Augusta’s civic life grade?
A− Augusta is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 of 143 in Maine. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Augusta.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.