Gordon Fox Ranch · Photo: FoxTowerFarm · CC BY-SA 4.0Lincoln’s library runs 77 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Lincoln Memorial Library serves Lincoln’s 4,866 residents. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
Lincoln’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
6,267 cards for 4,866 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 ↓
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 374 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Lincoln’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lincoln is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #57 of 143 in Maine. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Lincoln
4.9 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.
7.1%
7.1% of Lincoln’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 Lincoln’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lincoln Memorial Library serves 4,866 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
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 Lincoln last year.
Find it
Lincoln Memorial Library, 21 West Broadway, Lincoln.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lincoln? 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 $2.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lincoln cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $209K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $452K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $209K 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 6,267 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | Lincoln Memorial Library fine-free | 5.2 | 43 | B+ |
| Lee | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Winn | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Burlington | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Lincoln Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Lincoln
Does Lincoln have a public library?
Yes. Lincoln Memorial Library, 21 West Broadway, serves Lincoln’s 4,866 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lincoln Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lincoln’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lincoln’s civic life grade?
B+ Lincoln is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #57 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 Lincoln.
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.