Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0South Berwick’s library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
South Berwick Public Library serves South Berwick’s 7,753 residents. Last year it lent 40K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
The short version on South Berwick’s library
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 78% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 76% 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 South Berwick’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Berwick is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #66 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in South Berwick
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of South Berwick’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 South Berwick’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
South Berwick Public Library serves 7,753 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
2,944 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 South Berwick last year.
Find it
South Berwick Public Library, 27 Young Street, South Berwick.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Berwick? 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 $2.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Berwick cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $261K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $603K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $261K 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 2,055 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Berwick ranks 5th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | Dover Public Library | 7.6 | 62 | B+ |
| York | York Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 47 | A− |
| Wells | Wells Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 39 | A− |
| North Berwick | D.A. Hurd Library fine-free | 5.3 | 38 | B+ |
| South Berwick | South Berwick Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 35 | B |
| Rollinsford | Rollinsford Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 32 | C+ |
| Berwick | Berwick Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 41 | B− |
| Eliot | William Fogg Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 49 | 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 South Berwick
Does South Berwick have a public library?
Yes. South Berwick Public Library, 27 Young Street, serves South Berwick’s 7,753 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Berwick 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 South Berwick’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is South Berwick’s civic life grade?
B South Berwick is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on civic life, #66 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 South Berwick.
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.