Photo: Rapidfire · CC BY-SA 3.0Cape Elizabeth’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Thomas Memorial Library serves Cape Elizabeth’s 9,592 residents. Last year it lent 113K books, movies and e-books and logged 105K visits.
Cape Elizabeth’s library, in brief
Cape Elizabeth uses its library more than almost any town its size
Thomas Memorial Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Cape Elizabeth out-borrows every town next door
At 12 loans per resident, Cape Elizabeth leads the four towns here. The closest is Scarborough, at 8.4. Libraries next door ↓
Top 10% in Maine for borrowing
Cape Elizabeth ranks #5 of 98 Maine towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 10 items per resident, more than at 91% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Cape Elizabeth last year. Kids & programs ↓
Cape Elizabeth invests in its library
Thomas Memorial Library spends $99 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Cape Elizabeth’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cape Elizabeth is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #13 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Cape Elizabeth
5.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
14.1%
14.1% of Cape Elizabeth’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 Cape Elizabeth’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Thomas Memorial Library serves 9,592 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
113K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
17,037 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 Cape Elizabeth last year.
Find it
Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Rd., Cape Elizabeth.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cape Elizabeth? 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 $1.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cape Elizabeth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $952K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $952K 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 4,685 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cape Elizabeth borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Elizabeth | Thomas Memorial Library fine-free | 11.7 | 47 | A+ |
| Scarborough | Scarborough Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 51 | B+ |
| Portland | Portland Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | — | A |
| South Portland | South Portland Public Library | 6.8 | 79 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Thomas Memorial Library 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 Cape Elizabeth
Does Cape Elizabeth have a public library?
Yes. Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Rd., serves Cape Elizabeth’s 9,592 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thomas 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 Cape Elizabeth’s library?
It logged 10.9 visits and lent 11.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cape Elizabeth’s civic life grade?
A+ Cape Elizabeth is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 Cape Elizabeth.
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.