Moses Hutchins House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Lovell’s library runs 217 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library serves Lovell’s 2,629 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,702 visits.
What Lovell’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
73% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 27%. What your card is worth ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library ran 570 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 217 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 3,345 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
83% of the 570 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 70 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 77% 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 Lovell’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lovell is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Lovell is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Lovell near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Lovell
8.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
15.2%
15.2% of Lovell’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 Lovell’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Lovell last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library serves 2,629 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
946 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, 227 Main Street, Lovell.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lovell? 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 $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lovell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $196K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $240K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $196K 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 1,358 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.
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Lovell
Does Lovell have a public library?
Yes. Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, 227 Main Street, serves Lovell’s 2,629 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charlotte Hobbs Memorial 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 Lovell’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lovell’s civic life grade?
A+ Lovell is among the top 1% 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 Lovell.
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.