Winn Road School · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Cumberland’s library runs 100 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Prince Memorial Library serves 13,064 people in and around Cumberland. Last year it lent 105K books, movies and e-books and logged 58K visits.
Cumberland’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Prince Memorial Library ran 1,310 programs last year, about 25 a week. That’s 100 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 16,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Prince Memorial Library serves more than Cumberland
The library’s service area covers 13,064 people in and around Cumberland, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Cumberland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cumberland is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #12 of 143 in Maine. Cumberland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; 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 →
51 community nonprofits are registered in Cumberland
5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.3%
14.3% of Cumberland’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 Cumberland’s residents live; 2022.
About 13 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Prince Memorial Library serves 13,064 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
105K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
12,101 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Prince Memorial Library, 266 Main Street, Cumberland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cumberland? 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 $1.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cumberland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $824K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $824K 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 7,186 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cumberland ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chebeague Island | Chebeague Island Library fine-free | 13.7 | 26 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Yarmouth | Merrill Memorial Library fine-free | 9.9 | 43 | A+ |
| Falmouth | Falmouth Memorial Library | 9.8 | 47 | A− |
| Cumberland | Prince Memorial Library fine-free | 8.0 | 49 | A+ |
| Cumberland Center | Prince Memorial Library fine-free | 8.0 | 49 | — graded as part of its town |
| Gray | Gray Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 41 | B− |
| Windham | Windham Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 46 | B |
| North Yarmouth | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- 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 Cumberland
Does Cumberland have a public library?
Yes. Prince Memorial Library, 266 Main Street, serves 13,064 people in and around Cumberland (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Prince 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 Cumberland’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Cumberland’s civic life grade?
A+ Cumberland is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #12 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 Cumberland.
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.