Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Orleans’ library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Jones Memorial serves 3,289 people in and around Orleans. Last year it lent 3,585 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,130 visits.
The short version on Orleans’s library
Programs are almost all for children
98% of the 56 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Jones Memorial is used less than most libraries its size
Jones Memorial records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Orleans branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Jones Memorial spends $14 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Jones Memorial serves 3,289 people in and around Orleans, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Orleans’ civic life grade
Orleans 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Jones Memorial serves 3,289 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 Jones Memorial system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,585 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Orleans’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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
Jones Memorial, 1 Water St., Orleans.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jones Memorial branch.
New in Orleans? 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 $1.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orleans cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $64K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 1,241 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jones Memorial serves 3,289 people in and around Orleans, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Orleans.
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 Orleans
Does Orleans have a public library?
Yes. Jones Memorial, 1 Water St., serves 3,289 people in and around Orleans (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jones Memorial fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Orleans’ library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Orleans’ civic life grade?
Orleans 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 Orleans.
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.