Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Oak Hill’s library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Scarborough Public Library serves 23,656 people in and around Oak Hill. Last year it lent 199K books, movies and e-books and logged 117K visits.
Oak Hill’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Scarborough Public Library is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with five in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Scarborough Public Library serves more than Oak Hill
The library’s service area covers 23,656 people in and around Oak Hill, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 801 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 110 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 Oak Hill’s civic life grade
Oak Hill 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Scarborough Public Library serves 23,656 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 75 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
199K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 84K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
39,135 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs 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.
Find it
Scarborough Public Library, 48 Gorham Road, Scarborough.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oak Hill? 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 $2.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oak Hill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 12,174 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Oak Hill
Does Oak Hill have a public library?
Yes. Scarborough Public Library, 48 Gorham Road, serves 23,656 people in and around Oak Hill (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scarborough 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 Oak Hill’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Oak Hill’s civic life grade?
Oak Hill 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 Oak 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.