Blossom House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Monmouth’s library runs 140 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Cumston Public Library serves Monmouth’s 4,204 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,102 visits.
Monmouth’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Cumston Public Library ran 588 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 140 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
90% of the 588 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 51 were for children. 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 Monmouth’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Monmouth is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #96 of 143 in Maine. Monmouth’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Monmouth
5.3 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Monmouth’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 Monmouth’s residents live; 2022.
588 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 Monmouth last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cumston Public Library serves 4,204 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
1,616 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Cumston Public Library, 796 Main Street, Monmouth.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Monmouth? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Monmouth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $115K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $231K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $115K 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 975 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Monmouth ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne | Cary Memorial Library-Wayne fine-free | 8.0 | 17 | A− |
| Winthrop | Charles M. Bailey Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 37 | B+ |
| Monmouth | Cumston Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 25 | B− |
| Leeds | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Wales | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Litchfield | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| West Gardiner | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- 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 Monmouth
Does Monmouth have a public library?
Yes. Cumston Public Library, 796 Main Street, serves Monmouth’s 4,204 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cumston Public 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 Monmouth’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Monmouth’s civic life grade?
B− Monmouth is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #96 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 Monmouth.
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.