Lakewood Theater · Public domainMadison’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Madison Public Library serves 8,691 people in and around Madison. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.
What Madison’s library is like
Madison Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Madison Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 67 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 49 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Madison Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Madison Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. Today’s library there has 2,800 square feet. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Madison Public Library offered 67 programs last year, 7.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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 Madison’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Madison is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #111 of 143 in Maine. Madison is graded on two of the three inputs. Madison’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Madison
3.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.6%
6.6% of Madison’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 Madison’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1989
Madison Public Library, 12 Old Point Avenue, Madison.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Madison? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Madison Public Library
Madison Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 5, 1989. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The Madison Public Library is located at 12 Old Point Avenue in Madison, Maine. Built with funding support from Andrew Carnegie, it is one of the architecturally most unusual libraries in the state, with a distinctive octagonal tower and non-rectangular angled elements. It was designed by the local firm of Snow and Humphreys and completed in 1906.
More about the building →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.
Madison Public Library serves 8,691 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
2,291 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Madison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $132K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $224K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $132K 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 4,901 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Madison ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skowhegan | Skowhegan Free Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 42 | B− |
| Solon | Coolidge Library fine-free | 2.1 | 20 | B− |
| Madison | Madison Public Library | 1.6 | 48 | C+ |
| Norridgewock | Norridgewock Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 24 | C− |
| Anson | Stewart Public Library fine-free | 0.2 | 12 | C+ |
| Starks | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cornville | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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 Madison
Does Madison have a public library?
Yes. Madison Public Library, 12 Old Point Avenue, serves 8,691 people in and around Madison (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Madison 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 Madison’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Madison’s civic life grade?
C+ Madison is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #111 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 Madison.
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.