Orrington’s library logs 6.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Orrington Public Library serves Orrington’s 3,874 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
What Orrington’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 82% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 33%. A year at the library ↓
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 134 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 49 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 3% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Orrington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Orrington is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #70 of 143 in Maine. Library visits hold the grade up; Orrington’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Orrington
2.6 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.
8.7%
8.7% of Orrington’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 Orrington’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Orrington Public Library serves 3,874 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
297 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Orrington last year.
Find it
Orrington Public Library, 15 School Street, Orrington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Orrington? 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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orrington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $90K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $173K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $90K 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 2,258 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Orrington ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampden | Edythe Dyer Community Library | 7.0 | 51 | B+ |
| Brewer | Brewer Public Library | 4.1 | 43 | B+ |
| Orrington | Orrington Public Library fine-free | 2.7 | 32 | B |
| Bucksport | Buck Memorial Library fine-free | 1.8 | 29 | A |
| Winterport | Winterport Memorial Library fine-free | 1.7 | 24 | B− |
| Holden | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Orrington Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Orrington
Does Orrington have a public library?
Yes. Orrington Public Library, 15 School Street, serves Orrington’s 3,874 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Orrington 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 Orrington’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Orrington’s civic life grade?
B Orrington is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on civic life, #70 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 Orrington.
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.