Acadian Landing Site · Photo: Todd Edgard (NPS employee) · Public domainMadawaska’s library runs 3.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Madawaska Public Library serves Madawaska’s 3,863 residents. Last year it lent 7,715 books, movies and e-books and logged 8,152 visits.
What Madawaska’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Madawaska Public Library offered 12 programs last year, 3.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 1% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 93% 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 Madawaska’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Madawaska is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #107 of 143 in Maine. Madawaska’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Madawaska
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.6%
6.6% of Madawaska’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 Madawaska’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Madawaska Public Library serves 3,863 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,715 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
50 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
12 programs a year
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 Madawaska last year.
Find it
Madawaska Public Library, 393 East Main Street, Madawaska.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Madawaska? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Madawaska cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $141K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $122K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $141K 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 2,104 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madawaska | Madawaska Public Library | 2.0 | 38 | C+ |
| St. Agatha | Long Lake Public Library fine-free | — | 18 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Grand Isle | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Frenchville | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Madawaska
Does Madawaska have a public library?
Yes. Madawaska Public Library, 393 East Main Street, serves Madawaska’s 3,863 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Madawaska Public 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 Madawaska’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Madawaska’s civic life grade?
C+ Madawaska is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #107 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 Madawaska.
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.