East Merrimack’s library lends 5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Merrimack Public Library serves 28,565 people in and around East Merrimack. Last year it lent 230K books, movies and e-books and logged 73K visits.
The short version on East Merrimack’s library
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 38% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Merrimack Public Library serves more than East Merrimack
The library’s service area covers 28,565 people in and around East Merrimack, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 East Merrimack’s civic life grade
East Merrimack isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
230K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 56K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
87,345 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Merrimack Public Library serves 28,565 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 77 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 5 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.
Find it
Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack.
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 East Merrimack? 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 $2.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Merrimack cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 13,930 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Merrimack borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Merrimack | Merrimack Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 57 | — graded as part of its town |
| Merrimack | Merrimack Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 57 | C |
| Litchfield | Aaron Cutler Memorial Library fine-free | 5.0 | 37 | B− |
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 East Merrimack
Does East Merrimack have a public library?
Yes. Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway, serves 28,565 people in and around East Merrimack (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Merrimack 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 East Merrimack’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 8.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is East Merrimack’s civic life grade?
East Merrimack isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in East Merrimack.
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.