Nickels-Sortwell House · Photo: WestportWiki · CC BY-SA 3.0Wiscasset’s library runs 95 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Wiscasset Public Library serves Wiscasset’s 6,588 residents. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,680 visits.
The short version on Wiscasset’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
64% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 36%. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone in Wiscasset has a card
6,478 cards for 6,588 people, or 98%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Wiscasset Public Library ran 627 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 95 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Wiscasset Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Wiscasset Public Library holds 35,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years 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 Wiscasset’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wiscasset is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #34 of 143 in Maine. Wiscasset is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Wiscasset’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Wiscasset
7.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Wiscasset’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 Wiscasset’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Wiscasset last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Wiscasset Public Library serves 6,588 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
2,941 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Wiscasset Public Library, 21 High Street, Wiscasset.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wiscasset? 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 $1.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wiscasset cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $236K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $382K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $236K 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 6,478 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiscasset | Wiscasset Public Library fine-free | 3.3 | 34 | A− |
| Dresden | Bridge Academy Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 18 | B |
| Woolwich | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Alna | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Westport Island | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Edgecomb | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Newcastle | 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.
- 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 Wiscasset
Does Wiscasset have a public library?
Yes. Wiscasset Public Library, 21 High Street, serves Wiscasset’s 6,588 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wiscasset 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 Wiscasset’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wiscasset’s civic life grade?
A− Wiscasset is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #34 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 Wiscasset.
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.