Centre Congregational Church · Photo: Ken Gallager at en.wikipedia · Public domainGilmanton’s library runs 57 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Gilmanton Year-Round Library Association serves Gilmanton’s 4,002 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,929 visits.
Gilmanton’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Gilmanton’s library lends 3.5 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Gilford at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
48% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 52%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 57% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
69% of the 228 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 63 were for children. 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 Gilmanton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gilmanton is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #53 of 126 in New Hampshire. Gilmanton is graded on two of the three inputs. Gilmanton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Gilmanton
6.0 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of Gilmanton’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 Gilmanton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Gilmanton Year-Round Library Association serves 4,002 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
5,370 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 Gilmanton last year.
3 places to borrow in Gilmanton
Gilmanton Year-Round Library Association, 1385 Nh Route 140, Gilmanton.
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 Gilmanton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Gilmanton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gilmanton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $129K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $218K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $129K 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 3,379 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Gilmanton ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilford | Gilford Public Library | 12.4 | 49 | A |
| Loudon | Maxfield Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 34 | C |
| Barnstead | Oscar Foss Memorial Library fine-free | 4.6 | 32 | C+ |
| 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 Gilmanton
Does Gilmanton have a public library?
Yes. Gilmanton Year-Round Library Association, 1385 Nh Route 140, serves Gilmanton’s 4,002 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gilmanton Year-Round Library Association 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 Gilmanton’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gilmanton’s civic life grade?
B+ Gilmanton is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 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 Gilmanton.
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.