Photo: Sugeknight2008 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Mars Hill’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library serves Mars Hill’s 2,009 residents. Last year it lent 1,394 print books and media and logged 4,434 visits.
What Mars Hill’s library is like
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
44% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 56%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library serves 2,009 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 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 ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 95% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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 Mars Hill’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mars Hill is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns. Mars Hill is graded on two of the three inputs. Mars Hill’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library spends $25 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$82K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Mars Hill
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.0%
4.0% of Mars Hill’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 Mars Hill’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library serves 2,009 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,394 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
100 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Mars Hill last year.
Find it
Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library, 10 Hansen Street, Mars Hill.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mars Hill? 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 Mars Hill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 655 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.
- 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 Mars Hill
Does Mars Hill have a public library?
Yes. Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library, 10 Hansen Street, serves Mars Hill’s 2,009 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Walter T. A. Hansen 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 Mars Hill’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Mars Hill’s civic life grade?
C− Mars Hill is ahead of 24% 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 Mars Hill.
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.