Chapel of the Holy Cross · Photo: Toby Hudson · CC BY-SA 3.0Holderness’ library runs 308 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Holderness Library serves Holderness’s 2,030 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Holderness’s library
Holderness out-borrows every town next door
At 13 loans per resident, Holderness leads the four towns here. The closest is Plymouth, at 7.5. Libraries next door ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Holderness Library ran 626 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 308 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 6,366 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Holderness has a card
1,906 cards for 2,030 people, or 94%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Holderness Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Today’s library there has 4,847 square feet. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 22% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Holderness’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Holderness is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Holderness’ 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Holderness
9.9 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Holderness’ 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 Holderness’ residents live; 2022.
About 2 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Holderness Library serves 2,030 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: funding. 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
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Holderness’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
6,003 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1985
Holderness Library, 866 Us Route 3, Holderness.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Holderness? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Holderness Free Library
Holderness Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 7, 1985. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical and Colonial Revival and Victorian.
The Holderness Free Library is the public library of Holderness, New Hampshire. It is located at 866 US Route 3, at its junction with New Hampshire Route 113. The architecturally eclectic building it presently occupies was built in 1909 to a design by Boston architects Fox & Gale, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Holderness cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $186K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $509K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $186K 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 1,906 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Holderness borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holderness | Holderness Library fine-free | 13.3 | 25 | A− |
| Plymouth | Pease Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 48 | A |
| Center Harbor | James E. Nichols Memorial Library fine-free | 7.2 | 26 | A |
| Ashland | Ashland Town Library fine-free | 2.9 | 23 | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: funding. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Holderness
Does Holderness have a public library?
Yes. Holderness Library, 866 Us Route 3, serves Holderness’ 2,030 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Holderness 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 Holderness’ library?
It logged 6.4 visits and lent 13.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Holderness’ civic life grade?
A− Holderness is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Holderness.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.