Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0Londonderry’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
South Londonderry Free Library serves 2,787 people in and around Londonderry. Last year it lent 5,080 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,077 visits.
The short version on Londonderry’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
74% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 25%. What your card is worth ↓
South Londonderry Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
South Londonderry Free Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $23 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
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; South Londonderry Free Library serves 2,787 people in and around Londonderry, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Londonderry’s civic life grade
Londonderry isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of South Londonderry Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Londonderry
15.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
South Londonderry Free Library serves 2,787 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole South Londonderry Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,080 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,443 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
60 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
South Londonderry Free Library, 15 Old School St., S. Londonderry.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every South Londonderry Free Library branch.
New in Londonderry? 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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Londonderry cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $65K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $83K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $65K 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 880 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Londonderry | South Londonderry Free Library fine-free | — | 25 | — too few inputs |
| Windham | Windham Town | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Winhall | Winhall Memorial fine-free | — | 17 | — too few inputs |
| Weston | Wilder Memorial | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Landgrove | 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.
- System-wide. South Londonderry Free Library serves 2,787 people in and around Londonderry, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Londonderry.
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 Londonderry
Does Londonderry have a public library?
Yes. South Londonderry Free Library, 15 Old School St., serves 2,787 people in and around Londonderry (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Londonderry 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 Londonderry’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Londonderry’s civic life grade?
Londonderry isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of South Londonderry Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Londonderry.
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.