Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0Camden’s library logs 37 visits per resident, the fifth-highest of 3,790 U.S. town libraries
Camden Public Library serves Camden’s 5,224 residents. Last year it lent 107K books, movies and e-books and logged 195K visits.
Camden’s library, in brief
Camden borrows more library books per person than any town in Maine
Out of 98 Maine towns with a library of their own, Camden comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #1 for library use and #1 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Camden uses its library more than almost any town its size
Camden Public Library logs 37 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Camden Public Library ran 832 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 159 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
54% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 46%. What your card is worth ↓
Camden out-borrows every town next door
At 21 loans per resident, Camden leads the five towns here. The closest is Rockport, at 11. Libraries next door ↓
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 Camden’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Camden is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs put Camden near the top nationally; library visits rank highest.
Camden Public Library logged 37.4 visits per resident in FY2024, #5 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
79 community nonprofits are registered in Camden
15.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
20.9%
20.9% of Camden’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 Camden’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Camden Public Library serves 5,224 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
107K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 63K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
23,630 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Camden last year.
A National Register landmark since 2013
Camden Public Library, 55 Main Street, Camden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Camden? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Camden Amphitheatre and Public Library
Camden Amphitheatre and Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Feb 27, 2013, and named a National Historic Landmark the same day.
The Camden Public Library is the public library serving Camden, Maine, United States. It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Camden resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 5,224 people it serves ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Camden borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | Camden Public Library fine-free | 20.5 | 56 | A+ |
| Rockport | Rockport Public Library fine-free | 10.8 | 51 | A+ |
| Islesboro | Alice L. Pendleton Library fine-free | 6.8 | 30 | — under 1,000 residents |
| North Haven | North Haven Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lincolnville | Lincolnville Community Library fine-free | 1.1 | 12 | B+ |
| Hope | Hope Library fine-free | — | 13 | B+ |
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.
- Visits count everyone. Camden’s 195,222 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Camden
Does Camden have a public library?
Yes. Camden Public Library, 55 Main Street, serves Camden’s 5,224 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Camden 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 Camden’s library?
It logged 37.4 visits and lent 20.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Its visits per resident rank #5 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Camden’s civic life grade?
A+ Camden is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Camden.
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.