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Pillsbury Free Library

Warner’s library runs 49 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Pillsbury Free Library serves Warner’s 2,975 residents. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.

18 East Main Street, Warner 03278 · about 33 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 82% of U.S. towns · #24 of 126 in New Hampshire. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
22K
7.2 per resident
Visits a year
10K
3.4 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
146
about 3 a week · 3,878 attended
Cardholders
81%
2,411 cards
Open
33 hrs
a week
In brief

What Warner’s library is like

Most programs are for young children

77% of the 146 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 49 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

Pillsbury Free Library holds 32,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Warner’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Warner is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #24 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Warner’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Warner’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 82%
FewerMore
New Hampshire towns we grade (126)Ahead of 82%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $71K–$118K (7,887)Ahead of 84%

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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. Warner is small (2,902 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

21 community nonprofits are registered in Warner

7.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture51.59 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation20.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans41.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services41.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education30.95 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other30.95 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

10.3%

10.3% of Warner’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 Warner’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Warner →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–549
Ages 6–1164
Teens0
Adults31
All ages2
Little ones
0.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
15

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Warner last year.

3,878
people at programs
146
programs
How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 3.4 visits · typical 3Higher than 56%
Borrowing per resident 4.9 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 62%
Digital borrowing 2.3 e-items · typical 1Higher than 82%
Kids’ borrowing 2.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 70%
Program attendance 1.3 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 87%
Programs offered 49.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 66%
Cardholders 81% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 84%
Spending $83 per resident · typical $43Higher than 84%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in NH#53Most-used librariesof 109 towns
#48Most library borrowingof 120 towns
#35Best libraries for kidsof 108 towns
Size group

Pillsbury Free Library serves 2,975 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

10K
visits
3.4 per resident
22K
loans, print + digital
7.2 per resident
146
programs & events
3,878 attended
2,411
library cards
81% of people served
Every open hour13items borrowed
Every week75people at a program
Every week194visits
3 staff (full-time equivalent)3 public computers32K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

22Kloans
Books & media (adults) 33%Kids’ books & media 35%E-books, audio & streaming 32%
How hard the shelves work
0.5×

Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.

From your couch

6,924 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Pillsbury Free Library, 18 East Main Street, Warner.

33
hours open a week
6,800
square feet
32K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Warner? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.43 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Warner cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$83 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $247K.

Local taxes 82%Gifts & other 18%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $354K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $247K 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 2,411 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Warner ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
HopkintonHopkinton Town Library fine-free14.938A−
WarnerPillsbury Free Library fine-free7.233A−
BradfordBrown Memorial Library fine-free7.127A
SuttonSutton Free Library fine-free6.921B
WilmotWilmot Public Library fine-free6.323C+
WebsterWebster Free Public Library fine-free4.422D
SalisburySalisbury Free Library fine-free3.220B−

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Warner

Does Warner have a public library?

Yes. Pillsbury Free Library, 18 East Main Street, serves Warner’s 2,975 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Pillsbury Free 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 Warner’s library?

It logged 3.4 visits and lent 7.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Warner’s civic life grade?

A− Warner is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #24 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 Warner.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.