Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Littleton’s library runs 40 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Littleton Public Library serves Littleton’s 6,063 residents. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and drew 5,242 people to its programs.
Littleton’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
38% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 245 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.4 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Littleton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Littleton is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #18 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Littleton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Littleton’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Littleton’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in Littleton
10.3 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 (7 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.
8.0%
8.0% of Littleton’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 Littleton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Littleton Public Library serves 6,063 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.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
8,066 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Littleton last year.
Find it
Littleton Public Library, 92 Main Street, Littleton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Littleton? 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 $1.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Littleton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $422K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $533K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $422K 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 1,691 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Littleton ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 34 | A |
| Littleton | Littleton Public Library fine-free | 5.3 | 39 | A |
| Barnet | Barnet Public fine-free | 3.9 | 21 | C+ |
| Lisbon | Lisbon Public Library fine-free | 3.3 | 21 | A− |
| Monroe | Monroe Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dalton | Dalton Public Library fine-free | 1.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Waterford | Davies Memorial fine-free | 1.0 | 70 | D |
| Concord | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Littleton Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Littleton
Does Littleton have a public library?
Yes. Littleton Public Library, 92 Main Street, serves Littleton’s 6,063 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Littleton 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 Littleton’s library?
It lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 245 programs that drew 5,242 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Littleton’s civic life grade?
A Littleton is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #18 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 Littleton.
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.