Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Charlestown’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Silsby Free Public Library serves Charlestown’s 4,849 residents. Last year it lent 7,888 books, movies and e-books and drew 1,085 people to its programs.
Charlestown’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Charlestown’s library lends 1.6 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Rockingham at 4.4. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Silsby Free Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Most of Charlestown’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 56% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 77% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 81% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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 Charlestown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Charlestown is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #69 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Charlestown is graded on two of the three inputs. Charlestown’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
The survey’s stand-in for Charlestown’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2023 figure, so it is left out.
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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Charlestown
5.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Charlestown’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 Charlestown’s residents live; 2022.
56% of borrowing is digital
7,888 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
4,427 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Silsby Free Public Library serves 4,849 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
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 Charlestown last year.
Find it
Silsby Free Public Library, 226 Main Street, Charlestown.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Charlestown? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Charlestown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $163K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $123K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $163K 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 1,261 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Charlestown ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham | Rockingham Free Public fine-free | 4.4 | 42 | B+ |
| Springfield | Springfield Town | 3.6 | 51 | B |
| Acworth | Acworth Silsby Public Library | 3.4 | 22 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Claremont | Fiske Free Library | 3.3 | 44 | C+ |
| Charlestown | Silsby Free Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 30 | B− |
| Unity | Unity Free Public Library | — | — | D |
| Langdon | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Silsby Free Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2023 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Charlestown
Does Charlestown have a public library?
Yes. Silsby Free Public Library, 226 Main Street, serves Charlestown’s 4,849 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Silsby Free 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 Charlestown’s library?
It lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 152 programs that drew 1,085 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Charlestown’s civic life grade?
B− Charlestown is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #69 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 Charlestown.
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.