Photo: Ken_Gallager (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0Hanover’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Howe Library serves Hanover’s 11,895 residents. Last year it lent 224K books, movies and e-books and logged 79K visits.
The short version on Hanover’s library
Hanover borrows more library books per person than any town in New Hampshire
Out of 120 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own, Hanover comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #7 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Hanover uses its library more than almost any town its size
Howe Library logs 6.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 55%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Hanover invests in its library
Howe Library spends $155 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 31 items per child in Hanover last year. 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 Hanover’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hanover is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #8 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hanover’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
130 community nonprofits are registered in Hanover
11.1 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Hanover’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 Hanover’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Howe Library serves 11,895 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 79 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
45% of borrowing is digital
224K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 70K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
100,137 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 Hanover last year.
2 places to borrow in Hanover
Howe Library, 13 South Street, Hanover.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hanover? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Hanover
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hanover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 6,761 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hanover ranks 2nd 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 Hanover
Does Hanover have a public library?
Yes. Howe Library, 13 South Street, serves Hanover’s 11,895 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Howe 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 Hanover’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 18.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hanover’s civic life grade?
A Hanover is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #8 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 Hanover.
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.