Manana Island Fog Signal Station · Photo: US Coast Guard · Public domainMonhegan plantation’s library logs 55 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Monhegan Memorial Library serves Monhegan plantation’s 64 residents. Last year it lent 1,903 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,494 visits.
What Monhegan plantation’s library is like
More library cards than residents
217 cards for 64 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
99% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 1%. What your card is worth ↓
Monhegan plantation uses its library more than almost any town its size
Monhegan Memorial Library logs 55 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 30 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
15 times the programs of a typical library its size
Monhegan Memorial Library ran 58 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 906 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 444 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Monhegan plantation’s civic life grade
Monhegan plantation isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
58 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Monhegan Memorial Library serves 64 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1,903 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,238 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
13 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Monhegan Memorial Library, 1 Library Lane, Monhegan.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Monhegan plantation? 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 Monhegan plantation cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $49K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $33K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $49K 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 217 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Monhegan plantation borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monhegan plantation | Monhegan Memorial Library | 29.7 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| St. George | Jackson Memorial Library fine-free | 3.9 | 34 | A+ |
| Bristol | Bristol Area Library | 3.0 | 26 | B+ |
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 count everyone. Monhegan plantation’s 3,494 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Monhegan plantation
Does Monhegan plantation have a public library?
Yes. Monhegan Memorial Library, 1 Library Lane, serves Monhegan plantation’s 64 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Monhegan Memorial 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 Monhegan plantation’s library?
It logged 54.6 visits and lent 29.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Monhegan plantation’s civic life grade?
Monhegan plantation isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Monhegan plantation.
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.