Fort Constitution · Photo: AlexiusHoratius · CC BY-SA 3.0New Castle’s library lends 9.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
New Castle Public Library serves New Castle’s 1,009 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 2,040 visits.
New Castle’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 74%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
5,212 people came to the library’s 45 programs last year: 5.2 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
New Castle Public Library serves 1,009 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 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 ↓
New Castle invests in its library
New Castle Public Library spends $133 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 New Castle’s civic life grade
New Castle isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
45 programs a year
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 New Castle last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
New Castle Public Library serves 1,009 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
2,764 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Castle Public Library, 301 Wentworth Road, New Castle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Castle? 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 $1.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Castle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $134K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $246K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $134K 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 686 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New Castle ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth Public Library fine-free | 16.6 | 65 | A− |
| New Castle | New Castle Public Library fine-free | 12.6 | 24 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Rye | Rye Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 54 | A |
| Kittery | Rice Public Library fine-free | 8.0 | 31 | B |
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. New Castle Public 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 New Castle
Does New Castle have a public library?
Yes. New Castle Public Library, 301 Wentworth Road, serves New Castle’s 1,009 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Castle 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 New Castle’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 12.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is New Castle’s civic life grade?
New Castle isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in New Castle.
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.