Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Gardiner’s library runs 5.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Gardiner Public Library serves Gardiner’s 21,559 residents. Last year it lent 75K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
Gardiner’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Gardiner Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Gardiner Public Library offered 113 programs last year, 5.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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 Gardiner’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gardiner is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #58 of 143 in Maine. Gardiner is graded on two of the three inputs. Both 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Gardiner
4.0 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Gardiner’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 Gardiner’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Gardiner Public Library serves 21,559 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
13,528 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
113 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 Gardiner last year.
Find it
Gardiner Public Library, 152 Water Street, Gardiner.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Gardiner? 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 $1.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gardiner cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $591K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $591K 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 4,345 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardiner | Gardiner Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 43 | B+ |
| West Gardiner | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Pittston | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Farmingdale | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Litchfield | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Randolph | 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 Gardiner
Does Gardiner have a public library?
Yes. Gardiner Public Library, 152 Water Street, serves Gardiner’s 21,559 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gardiner 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 Gardiner’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Gardiner’s civic life grade?
B+ Gardiner is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #58 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 Gardiner.
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.