Abel Jones House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0China’s library logs 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
South China Public Library serves China’s 4,568 residents. Last year it lent 2,508 books, movies and e-books and logged 978 visits.
The short version on China’s library
South China Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
South China Public Library records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $2 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Open only about 7 hours a week
South China Public Library keeps short hours: about 7 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Winslow Public Library in Winslow, next door, is open about 40 hours a week. The buildings ↓
Every town next door borrows more
China’s library lends 0.5 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Vassalboro at 3.1. Libraries next door ↓
Few programs for a library this size
South China Public Library offered 2 programs last year, 0.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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 China’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, China is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #90 of 143 in Maine. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in China
4.6 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.2%
11.2% of China’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 China’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
South China Public Library serves 4,568 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,508 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
534 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 programs a year
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 China last year.
2 places to borrow in China
South China Public Library, 27 Jones Road, South China.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in China? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in China
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average China cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $11K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11K 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 559 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
China ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vassalboro | Vassalboro Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 38 | C+ |
| Winslow | Winslow Public Library | 3.0 | 40 | C− |
| Palermo | Palermo Community Library fine-free | 1.2 | 14 | B |
| Albion | Albion Public Library fine-free | 0.7 | 14 | C− |
| China | South China Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 7 | B− |
| Windsor | 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 China
Does China have a public library?
Yes. South China Public Library, 27 Jones Road, serves China’s 4,568 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 7 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South China 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 China’s library?
It logged 0.2 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is China’s civic life grade?
B− China is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on civic life, #90 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 China.
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.