Photo: Myself · Public domainMadbury’s library runs 158 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Madbury Public Library serves Madbury’s 1,964 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,302 visits.
The short version on Madbury’s library
A small-town library
Madbury Public Library serves 1,964 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 30 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Madbury out-borrows every town next door
At 7.7 loans per resident, Madbury leads the five towns here. The closest is Dover, at 7.6. Libraries next door ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 310 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.1 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Madbury’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Madbury is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Madbury
4.5 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.3%
11.3% of Madbury’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 Madbury’s residents live; 2022.
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 Madbury last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Madbury Public Library serves 1,964 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,841 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
4,425 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Madbury Public Library, 11 Town Hall Road, Madbury.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Madbury? 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 $2.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Madbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $118K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $283K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $118K 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 1,089 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Madbury borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. 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− |
| Dover | Dover Public Library | 7.6 | 62 | B+ |
| Lee | Lee Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 37 | A− |
| Barrington | Barrington Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 47 | B |
| Durham | Durham Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 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 Madbury
Does Madbury have a public library?
Yes. Madbury Public Library, 11 Town Hall Road, serves Madbury’s 1,964 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Madbury 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 Madbury’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Madbury’s civic life grade?
A− Madbury is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Madbury.
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.