Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 3.0Sanbornton’s library runs 67 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sanbornton Public Library serves Sanbornton’s 3,063 residents. Last year it lent 25K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Sanbornton’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Sanbornton 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 ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 205 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 79 were for children. 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 Sanbornton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sanbornton is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #101 of 126 in New Hampshire. Library visits hold the grade up; Sanbornton’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($85K–$142K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Sanbornton
2.6 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Sanbornton’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 Sanbornton’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Sanbornton last year.
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.
Sanbornton Public Library serves 3,063 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
6,385 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sanbornton Public Library, 27 Meetinghouse Hill Road, Sanbornton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sanbornton? 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 $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sanbornton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $195K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $387K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $195K 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 2,059 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sanbornton ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meredith | Meredith Public Library fine-free | 9.3 | 46 | A+ |
| Sanbornton | Sanbornton Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 32 | C |
| Laconia | Laconia Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 57 | A− |
| Hill | Hill Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 32 | C |
| Belmont | Belmont Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 32 | C− |
| New Hampton | Gordon-Nash Library | 3.2 | 47 | B |
| Franklin | Franklin Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 61 | B |
| Tilton | None of its own | — | — | 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 Sanbornton
Does Sanbornton have a public library?
Yes. Sanbornton Public Library, 27 Meetinghouse Hill Road, serves Sanbornton’s 3,063 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sanbornton 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 Sanbornton’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 8.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sanbornton’s civic life grade?
C Sanbornton is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on civic life, #101 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 Sanbornton.
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.