Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Westbrook’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Walker Memorial Library serves Westbrook’s 20,564 residents. Last year it lent 60K print books and media and logged 51K visits.
Westbrook’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Westbrook’s library lends 2.9 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Falmouth at 9.8. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Walker Memorial Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
80% of the 254 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Walker Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today’s library there has 17,000 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people Walker Memorial Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. 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 Westbrook’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Westbrook is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #92 of 143 in Maine. Westbrook’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 →
92 community nonprofits are registered in Westbrook
4.4 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Westbrook’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 Westbrook’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Walker Memorial Library, 800 Main Street, Westbrook.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Westbrook? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Walker Memorial Library
Walker Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 10, 1980. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as French Chateauesque.
The Walker Memorial Library is the public library of Westbrook, Maine, United States. It is located at 800 Main Street, in an architecturally distinguished French Chateauesque building designed by Frederick A. Tompson and built in 1894. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Walker Memorial Library serves 20,564 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
60K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Westbrook last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westbrook cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $733K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $903K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $733K 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 3,918 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Westbrook ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falmouth | Falmouth Memorial Library | 9.8 | 47 | A− |
| Scarborough | Scarborough Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 51 | B+ |
| Portland | Portland Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | — | A |
| Gorham | Baxter Memorial Library fine-free | 7.5 | 48 | A− |
| Windham | Windham Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 46 | B |
| Westbrook | Walker Memorial Library fine-free | 2.9 | 42 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Walker Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Westbrook
Does Westbrook have a public library?
Yes. Walker Memorial Library, 800 Main Street, serves Westbrook’s 20,564 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Walker Memorial 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 Westbrook’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Westbrook’s civic life grade?
B− Westbrook is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on civic life, #92 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 Westbrook.
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.