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Tucker Free Library

Henniker’s library runs 63 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Tucker Free Library serves Henniker’s 4,544 residents. Last year it lent 33K books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.

31 Western Avenue, Henniker 03242 · about 29 hours a week
BCivic lifeAhead of 60% of U.S. towns · #59 of 126 in New Hampshire. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
33K
7.3 per resident
Visits a year
14K
3.1 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
284
about 5 a week · 2,108 attended
Cardholders
66%
2,994 cards
Open
29 hrs
a week

What stands out about Henniker’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Henniker’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Henniker is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #59 of 126 in New Hampshire. Henniker is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Henniker’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

B
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Henniker’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 60%
FewerMore
New Hampshire towns we grade (126)Ahead of 54%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $71K–$119K (7,727)Ahead of 62%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Henniker is small (6,256 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

26 community nonprofits are registered in Henniker

4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.16 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation30.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans50.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services50.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education81.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other40.65 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

7.9%

7.9% of Henniker’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 Henniker’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.1 visits · typical 3Higher than 51%
Borrowing per resident 5 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 64%
Digital borrowing 2.3 e-items · typical 1Higher than 82%
Kids’ borrowing 2.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 72%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 53%
Programs offered 62.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 76%
Cardholders 66% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 76%
Spending $61 per resident · typical $43Higher than 71%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Tucker Free Library serves 4,544 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

14K
visits
3.1 per resident
33K
loans, print + digital
7.3 per resident
284
programs & events
2,108 attended
2,994
library cards
66% of people served
Every open hour22items borrowed
Every week41people at a program
Every week267visits
3 staff (full-time equivalent)11 public computers19K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

33K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

33Kloans
Books & media (adults) 32%Kids’ books & media 36%E-books, audio & streaming 32%
How hard the shelves work
1.2×

Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.

From your couch

10,507 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

284 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Henniker →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–50
Ages 6–110
Teens0
Adults129
All ages155
Kids’ books
13

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Henniker last year.

2,108
people at programs
284
programs
The building

Find it

Tucker Free Library, 31 Western Avenue, Henniker.

29
hours open a week
8,948
square feet
19K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Henniker? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.84 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Henniker cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$61 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $275K.

Local taxes 87%Gifts & other 13%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $506K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $275K 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 2,994 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Henniker ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
HopkintonHopkinton Town Library fine-free14.938A−
HennikerTucker Free Library fine-free7.329B
HillsboroughFuller Public Library fine-free5.425B+
WeareWeare Public Library5.245B−

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Henniker

Does Henniker have a public library?

Yes. Tucker Free Library, 31 Western Avenue, serves Henniker’s 4,544 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Tucker Free 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 Henniker’s library?

It logged 3.1 visits and lent 7.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Henniker’s civic life grade?

B Henniker is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 Henniker.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.