Photo: Public domain · Public domainLisbon’s library logs 2.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Lisbon Library Dept serves Lisbon’s 9,729 residents. Last year it lent 34K print books and media and logged 21K visits.
What Lisbon’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 285 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people Lisbon Library Dept serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 61% 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 Lisbon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lisbon is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #119 of 143 in Maine. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Lisbon’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$97K) 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Lisbon
2.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.6%
9.6% of Lisbon’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 Lisbon’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lisbon Library Dept serves 9,729 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
34K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Lisbon last year.
Find it
Lisbon Library Dept, 28 Main Street, Lisbon Falls.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lisbon? 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 $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lisbon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $394K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $512K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $394K 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 782 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lisbon ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topsham | Topsham Public Library fine-free | 9.7 | 54 | A− |
| Lisbon | Lisbon Library Dept fine-free | 3.5 | 46 | C |
| Lisbon Falls | Lisbon Library Dept fine-free | 3.5 | 46 | — graded as part of its town |
| Lewiston | Lewiston Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 50 | C |
| Bowdoin | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Durham | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Sabattus | 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 Lisbon
Does Lisbon have a public library?
Yes. Lisbon Library Dept, 28 Main Street, serves Lisbon’s 9,729 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lisbon Library Dept 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 Lisbon’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lisbon’s civic life grade?
C Lisbon is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #119 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 Lisbon.
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.