American Woolen Company Foxcroft Mill · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Dover-Foxcroft’s library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Thompson Free Library serves Dover-Foxcroft’s 4,539 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 35K visits.
Dover-Foxcroft’s library, in brief
People come to Thompson Free Library a lot
Thompson Free Library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 75%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 18 items per child in Dover-Foxcroft last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 185 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 67% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Dover-Foxcroft’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dover-Foxcroft is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #18 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Dover-Foxcroft’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Dover-Foxcroft
7.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Dover-Foxcroft’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 Dover-Foxcroft’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Thompson Free Library serves 4,539 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
2,547 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Dover-Foxcroft last year.
Find it
Thompson Free Library, 186 East Main Street, Dover-Foxcroft.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dover-Foxcroft? 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 $2.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dover-Foxcroft cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $270K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $607K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $270K 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 2,328 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guilford | Guilford Memorial Library fine-free | 8.3 | 40 | B |
| Dover-Foxcroft | Thompson Free Library fine-free | 8.1 | 39 | A |
| Bowerbank | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sangerville | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Sebec | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Garland | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- 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 Dover-Foxcroft
Does Dover-Foxcroft have a public library?
Yes. Thompson Free Library, 186 East Main Street, serves Dover-Foxcroft’s 4,539 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thompson Free 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 Dover-Foxcroft’s library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 8.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dover-Foxcroft’s civic life grade?
A Dover-Foxcroft is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #18 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 Dover-Foxcroft.
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.