Gov. Abner Coburn House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Skowhegan’s library lends 2.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Skowhegan Free Public Library serves Skowhegan’s 8,678 residents. Last year it lent 23K print books and media and logged 19K visits.
What stands out about Skowhegan’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Skowhegan’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Skowhegan is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #95 of 143 in Maine. Skowhegan’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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Skowhegan
4.7 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.9%
7.9% of Skowhegan’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 Skowhegan’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1983
Skowhegan Free Public Library, 9 Elm Street, Skowhegan.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Skowhegan? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Skowhegan Free Public Library
Skowhegan Free Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 14, 1983. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Queen Anne.
The Skowhegan Free Public Library is the public library of Skowhegan, Maine. It is located at 9 Elm Street, in an architecturally significant Queen Anne brick building designed by Edwin E. Lewis and completed in 1890. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The library is managed by the Bloomfield Academy Trustees.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Skowhegan Free Public Library serves 8,678 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
23K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
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 Skowhegan last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Skowhegan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $286K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $355K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $286K 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 2,981 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Skowhegan ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan | Canaan Public Library fine-free | 3.3 | 23 | C+ |
| Skowhegan | Skowhegan Free Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 42 | B− |
| Fairfield | Lawrence Public Library | 2.0 | 40 | C+ |
| Madison | Madison Public Library | 1.6 | 48 | C+ |
| Norridgewock | Norridgewock Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 24 | C− |
| Cornville | 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 Skowhegan
Does Skowhegan have a public library?
Yes. Skowhegan Free Public Library, 9 Elm Street, serves Skowhegan’s 8,678 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Skowhegan Free 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 Skowhegan’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Skowhegan’s civic life grade?
B− Skowhegan is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #95 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 Skowhegan.
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.