German Church and Cemetery · Public domainWaldoboro’s library runs 26 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Waldoboro Public Library serves Waldoboro’s 5,320 residents. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
Waldoboro’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
53% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 47%. What your card is worth ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Waldoboro Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 137 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 59 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Waldoboro’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Waldoboro is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #87 of 143 in Maine. Waldoboro’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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Waldoboro
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Waldoboro’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 Waldoboro’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Waldoboro Public Library serves 5,320 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
16K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Waldoboro last year.
Find it
Waldoboro Public Library, 958 Main Street, Waldoboro.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Waldoboro? 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 $1.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waldoboro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $159K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $289K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $159K 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 2,462 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Waldoboro ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damariscotta | Skidompha Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 45 | A+ |
| Union | Vose Library fine-free | 6.3 | 24 | A− |
| Bremen | Bremen Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 23 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Waldoboro | Waldoboro Public Library | 3.0 | 32 | B− |
| Friendship | Friendship Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 10 | C+ |
| Warren | Warren Free Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 32 | C− |
| Nobleboro | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Jefferson | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Waldoboro
Does Waldoboro have a public library?
Yes. Waldoboro Public Library, 958 Main Street, serves Waldoboro’s 5,320 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waldoboro 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 Waldoboro’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Waldoboro’s civic life grade?
B− Waldoboro is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #87 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 Waldoboro.
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.