Norton House Historic District · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Falmouth’s library lends 8.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Falmouth Memorial Library serves Falmouth’s 12,868 residents. Last year it lent 126K books, movies and e-books and logged 39K visits.
Falmouth’s library, in brief
Falmouth out-borrows every town next door
At 9.8 loans per resident, Falmouth leads the six towns here. The closest is Long Island, at 8.5. Libraries next door ↓
Top 10% in Maine for borrowing
Falmouth ranks #9 of 98 Maine towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 8.9 items per resident, more than at 87% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Falmouth Memorial Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 18 items per child in Falmouth last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
66% of the 564 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 181 were for children. 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 Falmouth’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Falmouth is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #33 of 143 in Maine. Falmouth’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 →
83 community nonprofits are registered in Falmouth
6.5 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.5%
10.5% of Falmouth’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 Falmouth’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Falmouth Memorial Library serves 12,868 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
126K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 53K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
11,815 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Falmouth last year.
Find it
Falmouth Memorial Library, 5 Lunt Road, Falmouth.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Falmouth? 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 $1.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Falmouth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 8,398 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Falmouth borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falmouth | Falmouth Memorial Library | 9.8 | 47 | A− |
| Long Island | Long Island Community Library fine-free | 8.5 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cumberland | Prince Memorial Library fine-free | 8.0 | 49 | A+ |
| Portland | Portland Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | — | A |
| Windham | Windham Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 46 | B |
| Westbrook | Walker Memorial Library fine-free | 2.9 | 42 | 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 Falmouth
Does Falmouth have a public library?
Yes. Falmouth Memorial Library, 5 Lunt Road, serves Falmouth’s 12,868 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Falmouth Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Falmouth’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 9.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Falmouth’s civic life grade?
A− Falmouth is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #33 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 Falmouth.
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.