Scarborough Public Library
Scarborough Public Library serves Scarborough’s 23,656 residents. Last year it lent 199K books, movies and e-books and logged 117K visits.
What stands out about Scarborough Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scarborough cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 12,174 cardholders ÷ 12.
Every hour the doors are open, about 75 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
Scarborough Public Library serves 23,656 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
199K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 84K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
39,135 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Scarborough last year.
Find it
Scarborough Public Library, 48 Gorham Road, Scarborough.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Scarborough? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Scarborough ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Elizabeth | Thomas Memorial Library fine-free | 11.7 | 47 |
| Scarborough | Scarborough Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 51 |
| Gorham | Baxter Memorial Library fine-free | 7.5 | 48 |
| South Portland | South Portland Public Library | 6.8 | 79 |
| Old Orchard Beach | Libby Memorial Library fine-free | 5.4 | 45 |
| Saco | Dyer Library fine-free | 5.2 | 46 |
| Westbrook | Walker Memorial Library fine-free | 2.9 | 42 |
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 Scarborough.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.