Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Franklin’s library lends 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Franklin Public Library serves Franklin’s 8,744 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and drew 520 people to its programs.
Franklin’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
93% of the 83 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Franklin’s library lends 2.3 items per resident. Each of the six neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Sanbornton at 8.1. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Franklin Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Franklin Public Library offered 83 programs last year, 9.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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 Franklin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Franklin is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #67 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Franklin is graded on two of the three inputs. Franklin’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 Franklin’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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Franklin
4.6 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.
7.1%
7.1% of Franklin’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 Franklin’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Franklin Public Library serves 8,744 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
4,370 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Franklin last year.
Find it
Franklin Public Library, 310 Central Street, Franklin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Franklin? 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 $1.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Franklin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $282K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $314K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $282K 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 2,827 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Franklin ranks 7th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanbornton | Sanbornton Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 32 | C |
| Northfield | Hall Memorial Library fine-free | 3.9 | 47 | A− |
| Tilton Northfield | Hall Memorial Library fine-free | 3.9 | 47 | — graded as part of its town |
| Andover | Andover Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 17 | B+ |
| Boscawen | Boscawen Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 35 | C− |
| Salisbury | Salisbury Free Library fine-free | 3.2 | 20 | B− |
| Franklin | Franklin Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 61 | B |
| Tilton | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Franklin 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 Franklin
Does Franklin have a public library?
Yes. Franklin Public Library, 310 Central Street, serves Franklin’s 8,744 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Franklin 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 Franklin’s library?
It lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 83 programs that drew 520 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Franklin’s civic life grade?
B Franklin is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on civic life, #67 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 Franklin.
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.