Allenstown Public Library
Allenstown Public Library serves 4,850 people in and around Suncook. Last year it lent 7,427 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,814 visits.
The short version on Suncook’s library
Allenstown Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Allenstown Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Allenstown Public Library offered 10 programs last year, 2.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
Allenstown Public Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Baker Free Library in Bow, next door, is open about 54 hours a week. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Allenstown Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 90% 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Suncook cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $74K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $112K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $74K 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 1,295 cardholders ÷ 12.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Allenstown Public Library serves 4,850 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
7,427 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,305 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
2,338 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Allenstown Public Library, 59 Main Street, Allenstown.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Suncook? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Suncook ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hooksett | Hooksett Public Library fine-free | 12.6 | 31 |
| Bow | Baker Free Library fine-free | 8.8 | 54 |
| Pembroke | Pembroke Town Library fine-free | 4.0 | 40 |
| Suncook | Allenstown Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 22 |
| Allenstown | Allenstown Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 22 |
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 Suncook.
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.