Photo: Smuttynoser at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Amherst’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Amherst Town Library serves Amherst’s 11,919 residents. Last year it lent 205K books, movies and e-books and logged 67K visits.
The short version on Amherst’s library
Amherst ranks 2nd in New Hampshire for borrowing
Out of 120 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own, Amherst comes 2nd for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #2 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 34 items per child in Amherst last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Amherst out-borrows every town next door
At 17 loans per resident, Amherst leads the six towns here. The closest is Bedford, at 15. Libraries next door ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 495 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.6 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Amherst’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Amherst is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #9 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
63 community nonprofits are registered in Amherst
5.3 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 (12 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.
13.0%
13.0% of Amherst’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical New Hampshire 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 Amherst’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Amherst last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Amherst Town Library serves 11,919 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 68 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
205K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 49K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.3 times last year, on average.
46,404 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Amherst Town Library, 14 Main Street, Amherst.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Amherst? 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 $2.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Amherst cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 6,508 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Amherst borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | Amherst Town Library fine-free | 17.2 | 58 | A |
| Bedford | Bedford Public Library fine-free | 15.4 | 58 | B+ |
| Hollis | Hollis Social Library fine-free | 8.8 | 45 | B+ |
| Merrimack | Merrimack Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 57 | C |
| Milford | William Y. Wadleigh Memorial Library fine-free | 7.8 | 48 | C+ |
| Mont Vernon | Daland Memorial Library fine-free | 6.1 | 37 | 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 Amherst
Does Amherst have a public library?
Yes. Amherst Town Library, 14 Main Street, serves Amherst’s 11,919 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Amherst Town 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 Amherst’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 17.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Amherst’s civic life grade?
A Amherst is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Amherst.
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.