Photo: Bernt Rostad · CC BY 2.0Fryeburg’s library runs 61 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Fryeburg Public Library serves Fryeburg’s 3,533 residents. Last year it lent 7,221 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,472 visits.
Fryeburg’s library, in brief
Programs lean toward adults
85% of the 215 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 33 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% 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 Fryeburg’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Fryeburg is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #76 of 143 in Maine. Fryeburg’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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Fryeburg
9.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Fryeburg’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 Fryeburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Fryeburg Public Library serves 3,533 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,221 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
215 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 Fryeburg last year.
Find it
Fryeburg Public Library, 515 Main Street, Fryeburg.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fryeburg? 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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fryeburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $145K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $150K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $145K 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 1,586 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Fryeburg ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conway | Conway Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 56 | A |
| Bridgton | Bridgton Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 29 | A− |
| Fryeburg | Fryeburg Public Library fine-free | 2.0 | 36 | B |
| Denmark | Denmark Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 15 | B |
| Brownfield | Brownfield Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 16 | C+ |
| Stow | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sweden | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Chatham | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Fryeburg
Does Fryeburg have a public library?
Yes. Fryeburg Public Library, 515 Main Street, serves Fryeburg’s 3,533 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fryeburg Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fryeburg’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Fryeburg’s civic life grade?
B Fryeburg is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #76 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 Fryeburg.
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.