Photo: Denmarkmaine · CC BY-SA 3.0Denmark’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Denmark Public Library serves Denmark’s 1,231 residents. Last year it lent 1,997 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,498 visits.
Denmark’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
84% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 16%. What your card is worth ↓
Denmark Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Denmark Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $26 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
Denmark Public Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Fryeburg Public Library in Fryeburg, next door, is open about 36 hours a week. The building ↓
A small-town library
Denmark Public Library serves 1,231 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Denmark’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Denmark is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Denmark’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Denmark
11.4 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Denmark’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 Denmark’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Denmark Public Library serves 1,231 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,997 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,083 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
360 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
45 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 Denmark last year.
Find it
Denmark Public Library, 121 East Main Street, Denmark.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Denmark? 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 $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Denmark cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $31K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $31K 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 675 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Denmark ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgton | Bridgton Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 29 | A− |
| Fryeburg | Fryeburg Public Library fine-free | 2.0 | 36 | B |
| Sebago | Spaulding Memorial Library fine-free | 1.9 | 22 | B+ |
| Denmark | Denmark Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 15 | B |
| Brownfield | Brownfield Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 16 | C+ |
| Hiram | Soldiers Memorial Library fine-free | 0.8 | 19 | 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 Denmark
Does Denmark have a public library?
Yes. Denmark Public Library, 121 East Main Street, serves Denmark’s 1,231 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Denmark 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 Denmark’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Denmark’s civic life grade?
B Denmark is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Denmark.
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.