New Portland Wire Bridge · Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainNew Portland’s library runs 77 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
New Portland Community Library serves New Portland’s 767 residents. Last year it lent 1,251 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,355 visits.
New Portland’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 32%. What your card is worth ↓
New Portland Community Library is used less than most libraries its size
New Portland Community Library records 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $26 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
New Portland Community Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
New Portland Community Library serves 767 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people New Portland Community Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 New Portland’s civic life grade
New Portland 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
New Portland Community Library serves 767 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,251 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,762 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
342 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
59 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 New Portland last year.
Find it
New Portland Community Library, 899 River Road, New Portland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Portland? 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 $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Portland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $20K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $20K 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 111 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New Portland ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingfield | Webster Library fine-free | 2.9 | 16 | B |
| New Portland | New Portland Community Library fine-free | 1.6 | 13 | — under 1,000 residents |
| New Vineyard | New Vineyard Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Anson | Stewart Public Library fine-free | 0.2 | 12 | C+ |
| Embden | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 New Portland
Does New Portland have a public library?
Yes. New Portland Community Library, 899 River Road, serves New Portland’s 767 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Portland Community 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 New Portland’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is New Portland’s civic life grade?
New Portland 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 New Portland.
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.