District No. 9 Schoolhouse · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Gilford’s library runs 196 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Gilford Public Library serves Gilford’s 7,798 residents. Last year it lent 96K books, movies and e-books and logged 88K visits.
The short version on Gilford’s library
Gilford has the most-used library in New Hampshire
Out of 109 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own, Gilford comes first for visits per resident. It’s also #12 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Gilford uses its library more than almost any town its size
Gilford Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.6 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Gilford Public Library ran 1,532 programs last year, about 29 a week. That’s 196 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 19,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gilford out-borrows every town next door
At 12 loans per resident, Gilford leads the six towns here. The closest is Meredith, at 9.3. Libraries next door ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Gilford Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
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 Gilford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Gilford is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #13 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Gilford
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.7%
9.7% of Gilford’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 Gilford’s residents live; 2022.
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 Gilford last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Gilford Public Library serves 7,798 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
96K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 57K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
21,361 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Gilford Public Library, 31 Potter Hill Road, Gilford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Gilford? 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 $2.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gilford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $731K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $731K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 5,829 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Gilford borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilford | Gilford Public Library | 12.4 | 49 | A |
| Meredith | Meredith Public Library fine-free | 9.3 | 46 | A+ |
| Laconia | Laconia Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 57 | A− |
| Alton | Gilman Library fine-free | 4.5 | 21 | C+ |
| Belmont | Belmont Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 32 | C− |
| Gilmanton | Gilmanton Year-Round Library Association fine-free | 3.5 | 28 | 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 Gilford
Does Gilford have a public library?
Yes. Gilford Public Library, 31 Potter Hill Road, serves Gilford’s 7,798 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gilford Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Gilford’s library?
It logged 11.3 visits and lent 12.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gilford’s civic life grade?
A Gilford is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 Gilford.
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.