Frost Garrison and House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Eliot’s library logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
William Fogg Public Library serves Eliot’s 7,317 residents. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 29K visits.
What Eliot’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
William Fogg Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991. Today’s library there has 3,362 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 291 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.9 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Eliot’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Eliot is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #65 of 143 in Maine. All three 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Eliot
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of Eliot’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 Eliot’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1991
William Fogg Public Library, 116 Old Road, Eliot.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Eliot? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
William Fogg Library
Fogg, William, Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 21, 1991. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The William Fogg Library is the public library of Eliot, Maine. It is located at the junction of Old and State Roads, in an architecturally distinguished building constructed in 1907 via a bequest from Dr. John S. H. Fogg in memory of his father William. The building was designed by C. Howard Walker, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 21, 1991.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
William Fogg Public Library serves 7,317 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
22K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Eliot last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eliot cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $325K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $404K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $325K 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 1,866 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Eliot ranks 7th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth Public Library fine-free | 16.6 | 65 | A− |
| Newington | Langdon Library fine-free | 11.5 | 39 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Kittery | Rice Public Library fine-free | 8.0 | 31 | B |
| Dover | Dover Public Library | 7.6 | 62 | B+ |
| York | York Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 47 | A− |
| South Berwick | South Berwick Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 35 | B |
| Eliot | William Fogg Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 49 | B+ |
| South Eliot | William Fogg Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 49 | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Eliot
Does Eliot have a public library?
Yes. William Fogg Public Library, 116 Old Road, serves Eliot’s 7,317 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is William Fogg 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 Eliot’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Eliot’s civic life grade?
B+ Eliot is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #65 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 Eliot.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.