Photo: Peter Dutton from Forest Hills, Queens, USA · CC BY 2.0South Portland’s library runs 24 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
South Portland Public Library serves South Portland’s 26,840 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 182K books, movies and e-books and logged 48K visits.
South Portland’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
South Portland’s library lends 6.8 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Cape Elizabeth at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Open about 79 hours a week
The main library is open about 79 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
South Portland Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 84% 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 Portland’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Portland is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #100 of 143 in Maine. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
102 community nonprofits are registered in South Portland
3.8 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.4%
9.4% of South Portland’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 Portland’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
South Portland Public Library serves 26,840 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at South Portland Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
182K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 114K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
9,567 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Portland last year.
2 places to borrow in South Portland
South Portland Public Library, 482 Broadway, South Portland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Portland? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in South Portland
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Portland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $992K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $992K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 14,556 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Portland ranks 4th of 4 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+ |
| Portland | Portland Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | — | A |
| South Portland | South Portland Public Library | 6.8 | 79 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. South Portland Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Portland
Does South Portland have a public library?
Yes. South Portland Public Library, 482 Broadway, serves South Portland’s 26,840 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 79 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Portland Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is South Portland’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is South Portland’s civic life grade?
C+ South Portland is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #100 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 Portland.
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.