Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Bar Harbor’s library runs 106 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Jesup Memorial Library serves Bar Harbor’s 5,276 residents. Last year it lent 46K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
Bar Harbor’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
61% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 39%. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Jesup Memorial Library ran 560 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 106 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 9,713 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Bar Harbor has a card
5,154 cards for 5,276 people, or 98%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Maine for library use
Bar Harbor ranks #9 of 97 Maine towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 8.6 visits per resident, more than at 91% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Jesup Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991. Today’s library there has 11,728 square feet. The building ↓
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.
What’s behind Bar Harbor’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bar Harbor is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs put Bar Harbor near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Bar Harbor
8.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
17.1%
17.1% of Bar Harbor’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 Bar Harbor’s residents live; 2022.
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 Bar Harbor last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Jesup Memorial Library serves 5,276 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
46K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
11,046 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1991
Jesup Memorial Library, 34 Mount Desert Street, Bar Harbor.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bar Harbor? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Jesup Memorial Library
Jesup Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 1, 1991. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
Jesup Memorial Library is the public library of Bar Harbor, Maine. It is located in an architecturally distinguished Colonial Revival building at 34 Mount Desert Street in the town's main village. The building was built in 1910-11, donated to the community by Mrs. Morris K.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bar Harbor cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $789K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $806K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $789K 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 5,154 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bar Harbor ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Desert | Northeast Harbor Library fine-free | 18.7 | 53 | A+ |
| Bar Harbor | Jesup Memorial Library fine-free | 8.7 | 41 | A+ |
| Winter Harbor | Winter Harbor Public Library fine-free | 7.4 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Gouldsboro | Dorcas Library fine-free | 3.1 | 19 | B |
| Trenton | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Lamoine | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Hancock | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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.
- 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.
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 Bar Harbor
Does Bar Harbor have a public library?
Yes. Jesup Memorial Library, 34 Mount Desert Street, serves Bar Harbor’s 5,276 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jesup Memorial 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 Bar Harbor’s library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 8.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bar Harbor’s civic life grade?
A+ Bar Harbor is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Bar Harbor.
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.