Ropes End · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Phippsburg’s library runs 2.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Albert F. Totman Public Library serves Phippsburg’s 2,205 residents. Last year it lent 9,686 print books and media and logged 6,838 visits.
What stands out about Phippsburg’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Phippsburg’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Phippsburg is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns. Phippsburg’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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Phippsburg
6.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Phippsburg’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 Phippsburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Albert F. Totman Public Library serves 2,205 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
9,686 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
5 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Phippsburg last year.
Find it
Albert F. Totman Library, 28 Parker Head Road, Phippsburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Phippsburg? 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 $2.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Phippsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $63K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $160K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $63K 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 1,277 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Phippsburg 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phippsburg | Albert F. Totman Library fine-free | 4.4 | 38 | B+ |
| Georgetown | Laura E. Richards Library fine-free | 1.8 | 12 | B− |
| Harpswell | Orrs Island Library fine-free | 0.5 | 20 | B− |
| Bath | Patten Free Library fine-free | — | 44 | A+ |
| Arrowsic | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| West Bath | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Phippsburg
Does Phippsburg have a public library?
Yes. Albert F. Totman Public Library, 28 Parker Head Road, serves Phippsburg’s 2,205 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Albert F. Totman 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 Phippsburg’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 4.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Phippsburg’s civic life grade?
B+ Phippsburg is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Phippsburg.
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.