Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Oakland’s library runs 1.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Oakland Public Library serves Oakland’s 6,357 residents. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,912 visits.
Oakland’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Oakland Public Library offered 10 programs last year, 1.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Oakland Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2000. Today’s library there has 5,756 square feet. The building ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Oakland Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 4.5 print items per resident. 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.
What’s behind Oakland’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oakland is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #120 of 143 in Maine. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$97K) 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Oakland
3.6 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Oakland’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 Oakland’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2000
Oakland Public Library, 18 Church Street, Oakland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oakland? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Oakland Public Library
Oakland Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 14, 2000. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The Oakland Public Library, serving the town of Oakland, Maine, is located at 18 Church Street, in an architecturally distinguished building designed by Harry S. Coombs in Classical Revival style and built in 1915. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The library underwent a major renovation and expansion in 2003.
More about the building →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.
Oakland Public Library serves 6,357 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
3,530 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 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 Oakland last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oakland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $246K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $504K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $246K 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 3,798 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Oakland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | Oakland Public Library | 5.1 | 33 | C |
| Waterville | Waterville Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 33 | B− |
| Belgrade | Belgrade Public Library fine-free | 1.9 | 30 | C+ |
| Smithfield | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sidney | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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 Oakland
Does Oakland have a public library?
Yes. Oakland Public Library, 18 Church Street, serves Oakland’s 6,357 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oakland Public 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 Oakland’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Oakland’s civic life grade?
C Oakland is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #120 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 Oakland.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.