Hope’s library logs 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hope Library serves Hope’s 1,732 residents. Last year it logged 361 visits.
Hope’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
100% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 0%. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
Hope Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Camden Public Library in Camden, next door, is open about 56 hours a week. The building ↓
A small-town library
Hope Library serves 1,732 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
81% of the 68 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 8 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Hope Library spends $2 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Hope’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hope is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Hope
7.4 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.8%
13.8% of Hope’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 Hope’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hope Library serves 1,732 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Hope Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 313 items borrowed against 361 visits, so we leave the count out.
68 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.
Find it
Hope Library, 443 Camden Road, Hope.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hope? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hope cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $3,222.
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 590 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | Camden Public Library fine-free | 20.5 | 56 | A+ |
| Union | Vose Library fine-free | 6.3 | 24 | A− |
| Appleton | Mildred Stevens Williams Memorial Library | 1.8 | 13 | C+ |
| Lincolnville | Lincolnville Community Library fine-free | 1.1 | 12 | B+ |
| Hope | Hope Library fine-free | — | 13 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Hope Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 Hope
Does Hope have a public library?
Yes. Hope Library, 443 Camden Road, serves Hope’s 1,732 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hope Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hope’s library?
It logged 0.2 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hope’s civic life grade?
B+ Hope is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Hope.
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.