Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Bethlehem’s library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Bethlehem Public Library serves Bethlehem’s 2,531 residents. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
The short version on Bethlehem’s library
Top 10% in New Hampshire for library use
Bethlehem ranks #9 of 109 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 8.2 visits per resident, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Bethlehem invests in its library
Bethlehem Public Library spends $84 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Bethlehem’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bethlehem is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #6 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bethlehem’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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Bethlehem
10.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Bethlehem’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 Bethlehem’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bethlehem Public Library serves 2,531 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
4,327 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Bethlehem last year.
Find it
Bethlehem Public Library, 2245 Main Street, Bethlehem.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bethlehem? 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 $1.73 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethlehem cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $213K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $369K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $213K 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 1,299 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bethlehem ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franconia | Abbie Greenleaf Library fine-free | 10.9 | 21 | A |
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 34 | A |
| Whitefield | Whitefield Public Library fine-free | 5.7 | 38 | B+ |
| Littleton | Littleton Public Library fine-free | 5.3 | 39 | A |
| Sugar Hill | Richardson Memorial Library fine-free | 3.8 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Carroll | Twin Mountain Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hart's Location | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Bethlehem
Does Bethlehem have a public library?
Yes. Bethlehem Public Library, 2245 Main Street, serves Bethlehem’s 2,531 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bethlehem 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 Bethlehem’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 9.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bethlehem’s civic life grade?
A Bethlehem is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 Bethlehem.
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.