Maine Public Library Profile 2009

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263 or 98% of the 269 recognized libraries completed the Annual Report for 2009.

6 libraries did not complete the 2009 annual report: Bass Harbor Memorial Library (Bernard), Lewis Dana Hill Memorial Library (Lovell), Mattawamkeag Public Library, Owls Head Village Library, South Windham Public Library (Gorham), Washburn Memorial Library

*Calculations below only include those libraries completing the 2009 Annual Report, however not all of these libraries answered every questions.

*Population

  • Maine 2009 Population Est.- 1,361,714 (2008 Census estimate)
  • Total Legal Service Area (LSA) for Maine Public Libraries (unduplicated) – 1,216,300
  • Population with no library service - 145,414
  • Average LSA = 19,530
  • Median LSA = 5,221
  • Libraries with LSA under 1,000 = 39
  • Libraries with LSA 1,000 - 2,499 = 80
  • Libraries with LSA 2,500 - 4,999 = 58
  • Libraries with LSA 5,000 - 9,999 = 56
  • Libraries with LSA 10,000 - 24,999 = 26
  • Libraries with LSA 25,000 and over = 4

*Hours Open Per Week

  • Average = 28
  • Median = 27
  • Libraries open less than 10 hours a week = 27 or 10%
  • Less than 15 hours a week = 54 or 21%
  • Less than 20 hours a week = 90 or 34%

*Print Collection

  • Total Print Collection = 6,393,139
  • Average = 24,401
  • Median = 15,557
  • Libraries with less than 5,000 volumes = 14 or 5%
  • Less than 6,000 = 32 or 12%
  • Less than 10,000 = 82 or 31%

*All Circulation

  • Total Circulation = 9,631,542
  • Average = 37,044
  • Median = 11,795
  • Libraries with circulation under 1,000 = 23 or 9%
  • Circulation under 5,000 = 99 or 38%

*Collection Expenditures

  • Total Collection Expenditure = $4,101,624
  • Average = $15,596
  • Median = $6,140
  • Libraries with book expend. under $1,000 = 31 or 12%
  • Book expenditure under $5,000 = 118 or 45%

*Paid Staff

  • Total Salary (including benefits) = $27,346,375
  • Average = $103,979
  • Median = $24,407
  • Libraries with no paid staff = 31 or 12 %
  • Under $1,000 for paid staff = 1
  • Under $5,000 for paid staff = 64 or 24 %

*Municipal Appropriations

  • Total Municipal Appropriations = $30,051,503
  • Average = $114,264
  • Median = $26,650
  • Libraries with no municipal appropriations = 9 or 3%
  • Municipal appropriation under $1,000 = 17 or 6% (includes above)
  • Municipal appropriation under $5,000 = 60 or 23% (includes above)

*Total Expenditures

  • Total Expenditures = $39,558,170
  • Average = $150,411
  • Median = $38,330
  • Libraries with Total Expend. under $1,000 = 4 or 2%
  • Total Expenditures under $5,000 = 25 or 10%
  • Total Expenditures under $10,000 = 49 or 19%

*Technology

  • Number of libraries with no phone = 7 or 3%
  • Number of libraries with no fax number = 132 or 50%
  • Number of libraries with no email address = 24 or 9%
  • Number of libraries with no website = 68 or 26%
  • Number of libraries with no computer = 5 or 2%
  • Number of libraries with one public computer = 16 or 6%
  • 2-5 computers = 107 or 41%
  • 6-10 computers = 59 or 22%
  • More than 10 computers= 75 or 29%

Other Statistics

  • 98.5% of the libraries are in towns with less than 25,000 residents
  • 88.5% are in towns with fewer than 10,000 residents
  • 17% have total operating budgets of less than $10,000
  • 37% spend less than $25,000 a year for their total budget
  • 51% spend less than $25,000 on paid staff
  • 6,718,517 visits were made to Maine public libraries in FY 2009.
    (10 libraries who participated in the annual report did not answer this question)
  • There were 770,881 registered Maine public library users in 2009.
    (5 libraries did not answer on the annual report)