Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Rollinsford’s library lends 2.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Rollinsford Public Library serves Rollinsford’s 2,638 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,876 visits.
What Rollinsford’s library is like
More library cards than residents
2,741 cards for 2,638 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans, more per resident than at 78% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 86 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 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 Rollinsford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rollinsford is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #85 of 126 in New Hampshire. Rollinsford’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($67K–$112K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Rollinsford
5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of Rollinsford’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 Rollinsford’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rollinsford Public Library serves 2,638 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
5,602 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Rollinsford last year.
Find it
Rollinsford Public Library, 3 Front Street, Rollinsford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rollinsford? 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rollinsford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $92K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $177K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $92K 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 2,741 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rollinsford ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | Dover Public Library | 7.6 | 62 | B+ |
| South Berwick | South Berwick Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 35 | B |
| Rollinsford | Rollinsford Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 32 | C+ |
| Somersworth | Somersworth Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 39 | C |
| Berwick | Berwick Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 41 | 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.
- 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 Rollinsford
Does Rollinsford have a public library?
Yes. Rollinsford Public Library, 3 Front Street, serves Rollinsford’s 2,638 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rollinsford 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 Rollinsford’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rollinsford’s civic life grade?
C+ Rollinsford is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #85 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 Rollinsford.
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.