Photo: TrustTruth at en.wikipedia · Public domainJaffrey’s library runs 109 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Jaffrey Public Library serves Jaffrey’s 5,396 residents. Last year it lent 62K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
What Jaffrey’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Jaffrey last year. Kids & programs ↓
Jaffrey uses its library more than almost any town its size
Jaffrey Public Library logs 7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Jaffrey Public Library ran 589 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 109 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Clay Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2023. Today’s library there has 14,190 square feet. The building ↓
Jaffrey invests in its library
Jaffrey Public Library spends $85 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Jaffrey’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jaffrey is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #9 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Jaffrey’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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Jaffrey
7.3 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of Jaffrey’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 Jaffrey’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Jaffrey 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.
Jaffrey Public Library serves 5,396 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
62K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
10,694 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 2023
Jaffrey Public Library, 38 Main Street, Jaffrey.
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 Jaffrey? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Clay Memorial Library
Clay Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 16, 2023. It is significant for its architecture, education and social history at the local level.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jaffrey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $460K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $999K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $460K 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 3,350 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Jaffrey ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | Dublin Public Library fine-free | 16.4 | 28 | A+ |
| Jaffrey | Jaffrey Public Library fine-free | 11.5 | 44 | A |
| Rindge | Ingalls Memorial Library fine-free | 8.9 | 37 | B |
| Fitzwilliam | Fitzwilliam Town Library | 7.8 | 20 | A |
| Troy | Gay-Kimball Library fine-free | 6.4 | 23 | B− |
| Marlborough | Frost Free Library fine-free | 4.1 | 27 | A− |
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 Jaffrey
Does Jaffrey have a public library?
Yes. Jaffrey Public Library, 38 Main Street, serves Jaffrey’s 5,396 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jaffrey Public 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 Jaffrey’s library?
It logged 7.0 visits and lent 11.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Jaffrey’s civic life grade?
A Jaffrey is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 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 Jaffrey.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.