Photo: Photo taken by NightThree with a Canon Powershot A60 on April 13, 2003 · CC BY 2.0Islesboro’s library runs 231 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Alice L. Pendleton Library serves Islesboro’s 592 residents. Last year it lent 4,018 print books and media and logged 4,581 visits.
The short version on Islesboro’s library
More library cards than residents
2,639 cards for 592 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Alice L. Pendleton Library ran 137 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 231 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,826 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Alice L. Pendleton Library serves 592 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 30 hours a week. 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 ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Islesboro Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. Today’s library there has 4,648 square feet. The building ↓
Islesboro invests in its library
Alice L. Pendleton Library spends $211 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. 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 Islesboro’s civic life grade
Islesboro isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 2 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Alice L. Pendleton Library serves 592 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,018 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1989
Alice L. Pendleton Library, 309 Main Road, Islesboro.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Islesboro? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Islesboro Free Library
Islesboro Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 5, 1989. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The Alice T. Pendleton Memorial Library is the public library of Islesboro, Maine. It is located at 309 Main Road, in an architecturally distinguished Colonial Revival building built in 1917, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More about the building →What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Islesboro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $125K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $89K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $125K 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 2,639 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Islesboro ranks 4th of 8 for borrowing per resident. 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+ |
| Castine | Witherle Memorial Library fine-free | 10.5 | 40 | A+ |
| Searsport | Carver Memorial Library fine-free | 8.5 | 30 | A |
| Islesboro | Alice L. Pendleton Library fine-free | 6.8 | 30 | — under 1,000 residents |
| North Haven | North Haven Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Deer Isle | Chase Emerson Memorial Library fine-free | 3.0 | 17 | B |
| Brooksville | Brooksville Free Public Library fine-free | 2.7 | 28 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lincolnville | Lincolnville Community Library fine-free | 1.1 | 12 | B+ |
| Northport | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Islesboro
Does Islesboro have a public library?
Yes. Alice L. Pendleton Library, 309 Main Road, serves Islesboro’s 592 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alice L. Pendleton 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 Islesboro’s library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 6.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Islesboro’s civic life grade?
Islesboro isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Islesboro.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.