Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Machias’ library runs 132 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Porter Memorial Library serves Machias’s 2,076 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Machias’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
69% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Porter Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Today’s library there has 3,000 square feet. The building ↓
A small-town library
Porter Memorial Library serves 2,076 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 31 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 ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Porter Memorial Library holds 21,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Machias’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Machias is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Machias’ count of community nonprofits 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Machias
11.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.3%
8.3% of Machias’ 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 Machias’ residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1978
Porter Memorial Library, 92 Court St., Machias.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Machias? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Porter Memorial Library
Porter Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 20, 1978. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival.
Porter Memorial Library is the public library of Machias, Maine. It is located at 92 Court Street in the center Machias, in an architecturally distinguished Romanesque Revival building, whose construction was funded by native son Henry Homes Porter. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Porter Memorial Library serves 2,076 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
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
11K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Machias last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Machias cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $98K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $188K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $98K 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 1,257 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitneyville | Whitneyville Public Library fine-free | 61.4 | 36 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Machias | Porter Memorial Library fine-free | 5.2 | 31 | A |
| Machiasport | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Marshfield | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Roque Bluffs | 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. Porter 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 Machias
Does Machias have a public library?
Yes. Porter Memorial Library, 92 Court St., serves Machias’ 2,076 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Porter 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 Machias’ library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 5.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Machias’ civic life grade?
A Machias is ahead of 87% 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 Machias.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.