Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Lancaster’s library runs 116 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
William D. Weeks Memorial Library serves Lancaster’s 3,262 residents. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
Lancaster’s library, in brief
Lancaster out-borrows every town next door
At 8.6 loans per resident, Lancaster leads the four towns here. The closest is Northumberland, at 4.1. Libraries next door ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
William D. Weeks Memorial Library ran 377 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 116 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,197 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
3,294 cards for 3,262 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 377 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Weeks, William Dennis, Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2000. Today’s library there has 12,000 square feet. The building ↓
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 Lancaster’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lancaster is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #39 of 126 in New Hampshire. Lancaster’s 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Lancaster
10.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Lancaster’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 Lancaster’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 Lancaster 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.
William D. Weeks Memorial Library serves 3,262 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 71K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
6,064 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 2000
William D. Weeks Memorial Library, 128 Main Street, Lancaster.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lancaster? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Weeks, William Dennis, Memorial Library
Weeks, William Dennis, Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 1, 2000. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts.
The William D. Weeks Memorial Library, also referred to as the Weeks Memorial Library, is a publicly funded, nonprofit library governed by the Town of Lancaster in Coös County, New Hampshire.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lancaster cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $334K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $464K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $334K 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 3,294 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lancaster 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | William D. Weeks Memorial Library fine-free | 8.6 | 34 | B+ |
| Northumberland | Northumberland Public Library fine-free | 4.1 | 28 | B+ |
| Jefferson | Marc A. Hurzeler, M.D. Library fine-free | 4.0 | 22 | B− |
| Dalton | Dalton Public Library fine-free | 1.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lunenburg | Alden Balch Memorial fine-free | — | 18 | C |
| Guildhall | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. William D. Weeks Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Lancaster
Does Lancaster have a public library?
Yes. William D. Weeks Memorial Library, 128 Main Street, serves Lancaster’s 3,262 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is William D. Weeks Memorial 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 Lancaster’s library?
It logged 7.9 visits and lent 8.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lancaster’s civic life grade?
B+ Lancaster is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #39 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 Lancaster.
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.