Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Dover’s library runs 159 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Dover Free Library serves Dover’s 1,212 residents. Last year it lent 9,726 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,634 visits.
Dover’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
2,755 cards for 1,212 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Dover invests in its library
Dover Free Library spends $188 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 193 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 59 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Dover’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Dover is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Dover is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Dover’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Dover
10.9 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 (0 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dover Free Library serves 1,212 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,726 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Dover’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
3,327 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.
Find it
Dover Free Library, 22 Holland Rd., Suite 1, East Dover.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dover? 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 Dover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $228K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $174K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $228K 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 2,755 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | Dover Free Library fine-free | 8.0 | 43 | A |
| Wilmington | Pettee Memorial fine-free | 5.9 | 38 | A+ |
| Newfane | Moore Free Library fine-free | — | 22 | A+ |
| Wardsboro | Wardsboro Free Public | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Marlboro | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Stratton | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Dover
Does Dover have a public library?
Yes. Dover Free Library, 22 Holland Rd., Suite 1, serves Dover’s 1,212 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dover 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 Dover’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Dover’s civic life grade?
A Dover is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Dover.
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.