Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainSouth Paris’ library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Paris Public Library serves 5,367 people in and around South Paris. Last year it lent 64K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
South Paris’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
South Paris is a town of borrowers
Paris Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Paris Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. Today’s library there has 5,050 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 116 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Paris Public Library serves more than South Paris
The library’s service area covers 5,367 people in and around South Paris, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Paris’ civic life grade
South Paris isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Paris Public Library serves 5,367 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
5,452 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1989
Paris Public Library, 37 Market Square, South Paris.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Paris? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Paris Public Library
Paris Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 5, 1989. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The Public Library of Paris, Maine, is located at 37 Market Square in the town of South Paris, Maine. The original portion of its building, a Colonial Revival brick structure built in 1926, was one of the last designs of the Portland architect John Calvin Stevens, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Paris cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $252K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $952K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $252K 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 2,661 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Paris borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Paris
Does South Paris have a public library?
Yes. Paris Public Library, 37 Market Square, serves 5,367 people in and around South Paris (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paris 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 Paris’ library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 12.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is South Paris’ civic life grade?
South Paris isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in South Paris.
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.