Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0New London’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Tracy Memorial Library serves New London’s 4,424 residents. Last year it lent 68K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
New London’s library, in brief
New London ranks 3rd in New Hampshire for kids’ borrowing
Out of 108 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own, New London comes 3rd for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #4 for library use and #5 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
New London uses its library more than almost any town its size
Tracy Memorial Library logs 8.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
New London out-borrows every town next door
At 15 loans per resident, New London leads the six towns here. The closest is Sunapee, at 13. Libraries next door ↓
New London invests in its library
Tracy Memorial Library spends $152 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) 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.
What’s behind New London’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, New London is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #27 of 126 in New Hampshire. New London’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 →
50 community nonprofits are registered in New London
11.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of New London’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 New London’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Tracy Memorial Library serves 4,424 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 32 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
68K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
20,257 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 New London last year.
Find it
Tracy Memorial Library, 304 Main Street, New London.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New London? 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 $1.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New London cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $673K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $673K 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 2,102 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New London borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New London | Tracy Memorial Library fine-free | 15.3 | 41 | A− |
| Sunapee | Abbott Library fine-free | 13.1 | 51 | A− |
| Newbury | Newbury Public Library fine-free | 11.9 | 41 | A |
| Sutton | Sutton Free Library fine-free | 6.9 | 21 | B |
| Wilmot | Wilmot Public Library fine-free | 6.3 | 23 | C+ |
| Springfield | Libbie A. Cass Memorial Library fine-free | 5.4 | 26 | 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.
- 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 New London
Does New London have a public library?
Yes. Tracy Memorial Library, 304 Main Street, serves New London’s 4,424 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tracy 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 New London’s library?
It logged 8.5 visits and lent 15.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is New London’s civic life grade?
A− New London is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 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 New London.
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.