Photo: Dudesleeper at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5Kennebunkport’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Louis T. Graves Memorial Library serves Kennebunkport’s 3,696 residents. Last year it lent 20K print books and media and logged 52K visits.
What Kennebunkport’s library is like
More library cards than residents
6,096 cards for 3,696 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
71% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 29%. What your card is worth ↓
Kennebunkport ranks 3rd in Maine for library use
Out of 97 Maine towns with a library of their own, Kennebunkport comes 3rd for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Louis T. Graves Memorial Library ran 485 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 131 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 14,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kennebunkport invests in its library
Louis T. Graves Memorial Library spends $123 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Kennebunkport’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kennebunkport is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #20 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Kennebunkport
4.4 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Kennebunkport’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 Kennebunkport’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Kennebunkport last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Louis T. Graves Memorial Library serves 3,696 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
20K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Kennebunkport
Louis T. Graves Memorial Library, 18 Maine Street, Kennebunkport.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kennebunkport? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Kennebunkport
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kennebunkport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $456K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $466K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $456K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 6,096 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Kennebunkport ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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. Louis T. Graves Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Kennebunkport
Does Kennebunkport have a public library?
Yes. Louis T. Graves Memorial Library, 18 Maine Street, serves Kennebunkport’s 3,696 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Louis T. Graves Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Kennebunkport’s library?
It logged 14.1 visits and lent 5.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Kennebunkport’s civic life grade?
A Kennebunkport is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Kennebunkport.
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.