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Library · Northeast Harbor

Northeast Harbor Library

Northeast Harbor Library serves 2,190 people in and around Northeast Harbor. Last year it lent 41K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.

1 Joy Road, Northeast Harbor 04662 · about 53 hours a week
Photo: Billy Hathorn
Borrowed a year
41K
18.7 per resident
Visits a year
45K
20.5 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
447
about 9 a week · 7,970 attended
Cardholders
100%
2,757 cards
Open
53 hrs
a week

What stands out about Northeast Harbor Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

45K
visits
20.5 per resident
41K
loans, print + digital
18.7 per resident
447
programs & events
7,970 attended
2,757
library cards
100% of people served
Every open hour15items borrowed
Every week153people at a program
Every day17Wi-Fi sessions
7 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers44K books & media on the shelves
Kids & programs

About 7 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Northeast Harbor →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–548
Ages 6–11318
Teens3
Adults77
All ages1
Little ones
0.9

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

18K
kids’ books & media borrowed
7,970
people at programs
447
programs
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

41Kloans
Books & media (adults) 40%Kids’ books & media 43%E-books, audio & streaming 17%
How hard the shelves work
0.8×

Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.

From your couch

7,055 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.04 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
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
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$304 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $666K.

Local taxes 15%Gifts & other 85%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $694K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $666K 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 2,757 cardholders ÷ 12.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 8 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 20.5 visits · typical 3.5Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 15.5 print items · typical 3.9Top 10%
Digital borrowing 3.2 e-items · typical 1Higher than 88%
Kids’ borrowing 8 kids’ items · typical 1.4Top 10%
Program attendance 3.6 attendees · typical 0.7Top 10%
Programs offered 204.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 88%
Cardholders 100% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 85%
Spending $304 per resident · typical $54Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Maine
#4 of 255

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Northeast Harbor Library serves 2,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

The building

Find it

Northeast Harbor Library, 1 Joy Road, Northeast Harbor.

53
hours open a week
14,000
square feet
44K
books & media
With a card

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

New in Northeast Harbor? The Handbook →

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

Next door

Libraries next door

Northeast Harbor ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
Southwest HarborSouthwest Harbor Public Library fine-free31.743
Northeast HarborNortheast Harbor Library fine-free18.753
Cranberry IslesIslesford Library fine-free8.513
Mount DesertSomesville Library Association fine-free0.610

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.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • 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.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Northeast Harbor.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Northeast Harbor Library one of the best things about Northeast Harbor?

Your answer becomes a post in 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.

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