Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainHollis’ library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Hollis Center Public Library serves Hollis’s 7,120 residents. Last year it lent 7,700 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,965 visits.
Hollis’s library, in brief
Hollis Center Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Hollis Center Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Hollis Center Public Library offered 33 programs last year, 4.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Hollis Center Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The buildings ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 79% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Hollis Center Public Library spends $7 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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 Hollis’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hollis is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #114 of 143 in Maine. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($72K–$120K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Hollis
4.1 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Hollis’ 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 Hollis’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hollis Center Public Library serves 7,120 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,700 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
744 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
33 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 Hollis last year.
2 places to borrow in Hollis
Hollis Center Public Library, 14 Little Falls Road, Hollis.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hollis? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hollis
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hollis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $49K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $112K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $49K 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 2,236 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hollis ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyman | Community Library fine-free | 3.5 | 35 | A− |
| Waterboro | Waterboro Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 29 | C |
| Limington | Davis Memorial Library fine-free | 1.9 | 29 | C |
| Hollis | Hollis Center Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 21 | C |
| Buxton | West Buxton Public Library Association fine-free | 0.2 | 12 | C− |
| Standish | Richville Library fine-free | 0.1 | 7 | C |
| Dayton | 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 Hollis
Does Hollis have a public library?
Yes. Hollis Center Public Library, 14 Little Falls Road, serves Hollis’ 7,120 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hollis Center 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 Hollis’ library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hollis’ civic life grade?
C Hollis is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #114 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 Hollis.
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.