Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Thomaston’s library runs 120 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Thomaston Public Library serves Thomaston’s 2,756 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,719 visits.
Thomaston’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
61% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 39%. What your card is worth ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Thomaston Public Library ran 330 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 120 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,435 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 330 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 79 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Thomaston Public Library holds 28,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Thomaston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Thomaston is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #84 of 143 in Maine. Thomaston’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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Thomaston
5.4 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of Thomaston’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 Thomaston’s residents live; 2022.
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 Thomaston last year.
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.
Thomaston Public Library serves 2,756 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
1,392 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Thomaston Public Library, 60 Main Street, Thomaston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Thomaston? 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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thomaston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $202K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $258K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $202K 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 1,731 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Thomaston ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockland | Rockland Public Library fine-free | 9.8 | 50 | A+ |
| Thomaston | Thomaston Public Library fine-free | 5.0 | 38 | B− |
| South Thomaston | South Thomaston Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 23 | A |
| Warren | Warren Free Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 32 | C− |
| Cushing | Cushing Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 20 | D |
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 Thomaston
Does Thomaston have a public library?
Yes. Thomaston Public Library, 60 Main Street, serves Thomaston’s 2,756 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thomaston 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 Thomaston’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Thomaston’s civic life grade?
B− Thomaston is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 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 Thomaston.
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.