Photo: AcrossTheAtlantic · CC BY-SA 4.0Durham’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Durham Public Library serves Durham’s 14,695 residents. Last year it lent 104K books, movies and e-books and logged 69K visits.
Durham’s library, in brief
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Durham Public Library is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in New Hampshire for kids’ borrowing
Durham ranks #10 of 108 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
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 Durham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Durham is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #20 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 →
79 community nonprofits are registered in Durham
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.6%
10.6% of Durham’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 Durham’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Durham Public Library serves 14,695 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 43 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
104K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
31,905 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Durham last year.
Find it
Durham Public Library, 49 Madbury Road, Durham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Durham? 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 $2.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Durham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $679K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $679K 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 5,631 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Durham ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Durham
Does Durham have a public library?
Yes. Durham Public Library, 49 Madbury Road, serves Durham’s 14,695 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Durham 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 Durham’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 7.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Durham’s civic life grade?
A Durham is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Durham.
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.