Winslow Homer Studio · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Scarborough’s library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Scarborough Public Library serves Scarborough’s 23,656 residents. Last year it lent 199K books, movies and e-books and logged 117K visits.
The short version on Scarborough’s library
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 ↓
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 Scarborough’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Scarborough is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #45 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in Scarborough
4.3 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.4%
8.4% of Scarborough’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 Scarborough’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Scarborough last year.
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 Scarborough? 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 Scarborough 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.
Libraries next door
Scarborough ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Elizabeth | Thomas Memorial Library fine-free | 11.7 | 47 | A+ |
| Scarborough | Scarborough Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 51 | B+ |
| Gorham | Baxter Memorial Library fine-free | 7.5 | 48 | A− |
| South Portland | South Portland Public Library | 6.8 | 79 | C+ |
| Old Orchard Beach | Libby Memorial Library fine-free | 5.4 | 45 | B− |
| Saco | Dyer Library fine-free | 5.2 | 46 | B+ |
| Westbrook | Walker Memorial Library fine-free | 2.9 | 42 | 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.
- 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 Scarborough
Does Scarborough have a public library?
Yes. Scarborough Public Library, 48 Gorham Road, serves Scarborough’s 23,656 residents (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 Scarborough’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 Scarborough’s civic life grade?
B+ Scarborough is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #45 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 Scarborough.
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.