Nashua Public Library
Nashua Public Library is a municipal public library based in Nashua (Hillsborough), New Hampshire, serving a legal service area of 92,515 residents from a single building. Among profiled systems in New Hampshire, it ranks first for operating spending, first for electronic checkouts, second for population served and second for total visits.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 49% fewer public computers per resident and 35% fewer print volumes per resident.
Nashua against the 559 systems of its size class
Nashua in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 180,928
- Physical checkouts
- 273,035
- …of children's materials
- 127,233
- Electronic checkouts
- 115,862
- …of e-books
- 38,637
- …of e-audio
- 57,304
- Registered users
- 52,191
- Program sessions
- 893
- Program attendance
- 20,639
- Print volumes
- 102,799
- Audio items (physical)
- 2,344
- Video items (physical)
- 7,848
- Public computers
- 27
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 2,828
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 39.6
- Operating spending
- $3.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $230,166
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Nashua gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $3.8 million, or $41.53 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 186 profiled systems in New Hampshire. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Hoover Public Library in Alabama.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall River Public Library | Fall River, MA | 93,682 | 1.22 | 1.23 | $21.81 |
| Temple Public Library | Temple, TX | 93,095 | 1.91 | 4.24 | $24.95 |
| Santa Monica Public Library | Santa Monica, CA | 92,912 | 3.34 | 7.35 | $120.89 |
| Hoover Public Library | Hoover, AL | 92,435 | 4.12 | 10.16 | $96.80 |
| Hamilton Township Free Public Library | Hamilton, NJ | 92,297 | 0.64 | 1.21 | $32.38 |
| L.e. Phillips Memorial Public Library | Eau Claire, WI | 91,323 | 2.89 | 7.08 | $67.04 |
Nashua since FY 2019
Visits were 35% below the FY 2019 count of 277,488 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 23% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Nashua programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 70% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 23 people each.
The Nashua building
The single building covers 55,000 square feet, 0.59 square feet per resident against a median of 0.62 for the size class. It is open 54.4 hours a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashua Public Library | Central library | Nashua | 54.4 | 55,000 |
Nearest in size within New Hampshire
- Manchester City Library · Manchester · 116,161 residents
- Concord Public Library · Concord · 44,111 residents
- Derry Public Library · Derry · 34,627 residents
- Taylor Library · East Derry · 34,627 residents