Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0North Hampton’s library runs 77 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
North Hampton Public Library serves North Hampton’s 4,558 residents. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
What North Hampton’s library is like
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, North Hampton Public Library is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with six in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
North Hampton out-borrows every town next door
At 9.2 loans per resident, North Hampton leads the five towns here. The closest is Hampton, at 8.3. Libraries next door ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
North Hampton Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2014. Today’s library there has 12,500 square feet. The building ↓
North Hampton invests in its library
North Hampton Public Library spends $96 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) 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 North Hampton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Hampton is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #63 of 126 in New Hampshire. Library visits hold 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in North Hampton
4.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.4%
6.4% of North Hampton’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 North Hampton’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Hampton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $440K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $646K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $440K 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 3,303 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
North Hampton Public Library serves 4,558 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 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.
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 North Hampton last year.
A National Register landmark since 2014
North Hampton Public Library, 239 Atlantic Avenue, North Hampton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Hampton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
North Hampton Library
North Hampton Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Feb 5, 2014. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
The Old North Hampton Library is a historic library building at 237 Atlantic Avenue in North Hampton, New Hampshire. The small, single-story Tudor Revival structure was designed by Boston architect J. Lawrence Berry and built in 1907. It was the town's first purpose-built library building, and was used as such until a new library was built nearby in 1973. It presently houses town offices.
More about the building →Libraries next door
North Hampton borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
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 North Hampton
Does North Hampton have a public library?
Yes. North Hampton Public Library, 239 Atlantic Avenue, serves North Hampton’s 4,558 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Hampton 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 North Hampton’s library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 9.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is North Hampton’s civic life grade?
B North Hampton is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #63 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 North Hampton.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.