Capt. Jonathan Currier House · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0South Hampton’s library runs 30 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
South Hampton Free Public Library serves South Hampton’s 897 residents. Last year it lent 4,439 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,620 visits.
What South Hampton’s library is like
A small-town library
South Hampton Free Public Library serves 897 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
South Hampton Free Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Amesbury Public Library in Amesbury, next door, is open about 49 hours a week. The building ↓
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 South Hampton’s civic life grade
South Hampton 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
South Hampton Free Public Library serves 897 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
4,439 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,168 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
27 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in South Hampton last year.
Find it
South Hampton Free Public Library, 3-1 Hilldale Avenue, South Hampton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Hampton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Hampton resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $72K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $70K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $72K 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 897 people it serves ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Hampton ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Kingston | East Kingston Public Library fine-free | 8.9 | 38 | B− |
| Amesbury | Amesbury Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 49 | D− |
| Kensington | Kensington Social & Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 32 | B+ |
| South Hampton | South Hampton Free Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 21 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Salisbury | Salisbury Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 43 | B− |
| Seabrook | Seabrook Library fine-free | 3.7 | 46 | C+ |
| Newton | Gale Library fine-free | 3.4 | 28 | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 South Hampton
Does South Hampton have a public library?
Yes. South Hampton Free Public Library, 3-1 Hilldale Avenue, serves South Hampton’s 897 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Hampton Free 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 South Hampton’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 4.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is South Hampton’s civic life grade?
South Hampton 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 South 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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.