Brick School · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Winslow’s library runs 7.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Winslow Public Library serves Winslow’s 8,026 residents. Last year it lent 24K print books and media and logged 21K visits.
The short version on Winslow’s library
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Winslow Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Winslow Public Library offered 62 programs last year, 7.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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 Winslow’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Winslow is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #132 of 143 in Maine. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Winslow’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$89K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Winslow
1.0 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.
7.8%
7.8% of Winslow’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 Winslow’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Winslow Public Library serves 8,026 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
24K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 38K 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.
62 programs a year
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 Winslow last year.
Find it
Winslow Public Library, 136 Halifax Street, Winslow.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Winslow? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Winslow cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $308K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $367K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $308K 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 2,659 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Winslow ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterville | Waterville Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 33 | B− |
| Vassalboro | Vassalboro Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 38 | C+ |
| Winslow | Winslow Public Library | 3.0 | 40 | C− |
| Albion | Albion Public Library fine-free | 0.7 | 14 | C− |
| China | South China Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 7 | B− |
| Benton | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- 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 Winslow
Does Winslow have a public library?
Yes. Winslow Public Library, 136 Halifax Street, serves Winslow’s 8,026 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Winslow 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 Winslow’s library?
It logged 2.6 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 Winslow’s civic life grade?
C− Winslow is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #132 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 Winslow.
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.