Photo: BMRR from en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Wells’ library logs 7.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Wells Public Library serves Wells’s 11,855 residents. Last year it lent 74K books, movies and e-books and logged 84K visits.
What stands out about Wells’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Wells’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wells is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #35 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
45 community nonprofits are registered in Wells
3.8 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Wells’ 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 Wells’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Wells Public Library serves 11,855 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
74K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 37K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
9,355 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 Wells last year.
Find it
Wells Public Library, 1434 Post Road, Wells.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wells? 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 $1.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wells cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $714K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $714K 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 5,596 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wells ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennebunk | Kennebunk Free Library fine-free | 6.4 | 50 | 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 |
| Ogunquit | Ogunquit Memorial Library fine-free | 2.4 | 25 | 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 Wells
Does Wells have a public library?
Yes. Wells Public Library, 1434 Post Road, serves Wells’ 11,855 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wells 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 Wells’ library?
It logged 7.1 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Wells’ civic life grade?
A− Wells is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 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 Wells.
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.