Photo: Bostonian13 · CC BY-SA 3.0Lee’s library runs 110 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Lee Public Library serves Lee’s 4,567 residents. Last year it lent 34K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
Lee’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Lee Public Library ran 503 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 110 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 13,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 78% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind Lee’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lee is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #33 of 126 in New Hampshire. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Lee
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.6%
11.6% of Lee’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 Lee’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Lee last year.
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.
Lee Public Library serves 4,567 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
34K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
11,083 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lee Public Library, 9 Mast Road, Lee.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lee? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $238K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $632K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $238K 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 2,190 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lee ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madbury | Madbury Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 30 | A− |
| Lee | Lee Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 37 | A− |
| Nottingham | Blaisdell Memorial Library | 7.5 | 35 | B− |
| Durham | Durham Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 47 | A |
| Newmarket | Newmarket Public Library fine-free | 6.7 | 47 | 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 Lee
Does Lee have a public library?
Yes. Lee Public Library, 9 Mast Road, serves Lee’s 4,567 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lee 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 Lee’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lee’s civic life grade?
A− Lee is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #33 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 Lee.
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.