Photo: cappi thompson from Gorham, New Hampshire, USA · CC BY 2.0Laconia’s library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Laconia Public Library serves Laconia’s 17,103 residents. Last year it lent 102K books, movies and e-books and logged 116K visits.
The short version on Laconia’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Gale Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Today’s library there has 18,000 square feet. The building ↓
People come to Laconia Public Library a lot
Laconia Public Library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Laconia’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Laconia is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #25 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Laconia
5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (13 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.
7.7%
7.7% of Laconia’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 Laconia’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Laconia Public Library serves 17,103 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
102K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 60K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
25,020 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 Laconia last year.
A National Register landmark since 1985
Laconia Public Library, 695 Main Street, Laconia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Laconia? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Gale Memorial Library
Gale Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 12, 1985. It is significant for its architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival.
The Gale Memorial Library is the public library of Laconia, New Hampshire. It is located at 695 Main Street in a Richardsonian Romanesque building, whose 1901–03 construction was funded by a bequest from Napoleon Bonaparte Gale, a local banker. The building was designed by Boston architect Charles Brigham, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Laconia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $910K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $910K 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 4,575 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Laconia ranks 4th of 5 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 |
| Meredith | Meredith Public Library fine-free | 9.3 | 46 | A+ |
| Sanbornton | Sanbornton Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 32 | C |
| Laconia | Laconia Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 57 | A− |
| Belmont | Belmont Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 32 | C− |
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 Laconia
Does Laconia have a public library?
Yes. Laconia Public Library, 695 Main Street, serves Laconia’s 17,103 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Laconia 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 Laconia’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Laconia’s civic life grade?
A− Laconia is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 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 Laconia.
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.