Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Derry’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Derry Public Library serves Derry’s 34,627 residents. Last year it lent 184K books, movies and e-books and logged 126K visits.
The short version on Derry’s library
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Derry Public Library is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 750 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.3 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 Derry’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Derry is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #84 of 126 in New Hampshire. Library visits hold the grade up; Derry’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($82K–$136K) 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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in Derry
2.9 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 (11 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.
6.7%
6.7% of Derry’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 Derry’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Derry Public Library serves 34,627 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
184K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 97K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
37,285 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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 Derry last year.
2 places to borrow in Derry
Derry Public Library, 64 East Broadway, Derry.
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 Derry? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Derry
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Derry cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 16,497 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Derry ranks 5th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windham | Nesmith Library fine-free | 12.1 | 63 | A− |
| Atkinson | Kimball Library fine-free | 7.7 | 52 | B− |
| Hampstead | Hampstead Public Library fine-free | 7.4 | 55 | B+ |
| Londonderry | Leach Library | 6.9 | 54 | C+ |
| Derry | Derry Public Library fine-free | 5.3 | 53 | C+ |
| Sandown | Sandown Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 39 | D |
| Salem | Kelley Library | 3.7 | 63 | C− |
| Chester | Chester Public Library | 3.3 | 36 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Derry Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Derry
Does Derry have a public library?
Yes. Derry Public Library, 64 East Broadway, serves Derry’s 34,627 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Derry 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 Derry’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Derry’s civic life grade?
C+ Derry is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 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 Derry.
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.