Durham Public Library

What Durham Public Library does

Durham Public Library is a municipal public library serving the towns of Durham, Lee, and Madbury in New Hampshire. Operated as a nonprofit organization under the governance of an elected seven-member Board of Trustees, the library is housed in a single physical location at 49 Madbury Road, Durham, with weekly hours spanning six days. It provides free library cards to residents of the three towns, UNH students and faculty, and town and Oyster River School District employees. The library's core offering centers on traditional book lending augmented by an extensive digital platform suite — Overdrive/Libby and hoopla for ebooks/audiobooks/media, Kanopy for film streaming, Mango Languages for 70+ world languages, Universal Class for 500+ continuing education courses, and EBSCOhost/Ancestry/NYTimes/WSJ for research — alongside physical services including 3D printing, a Library of Things catalog (metal detectors, pasta makers, DSLR cameras, etc.), museum passes for 19 regional museums, notary services, meeting room rental, and homebound delivery.\n\nThe underlying technology stack is entirely vendor-provided: a Booksys integrated library system sits behind the catalog and "My Account" functionality, while LibCal handles event calendaring, meeting room reservations, and museum pass reservations. The library operates with a lean staff of approximately 11 named personnel (Library Director Sheryl Bass, Assistant Director Audra Lewis, Head of Youth Services Kelly Montagano, programming/outreach staff, and library assistants across adult, youth, and float roles) plus an active Friends of DPL support organization founded in 1997. Engagement is driven through weekly Monday email newsletters (LibraryAware), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, the website, and community partnerships with Oyster River Parents & Preschoolers, the Durham Historic Association, and the school district.\n\nThe revenue model is primarily municipal-tax-funded through Town of Durham annual budget appropriations as required by New Hampshire law, supplemented by annual fundraising appeals and the Friends of DPL bookstore/program revenues. Direct service fees are nominal and apply only to printing ($0.10/page B&W, $0.50/page color), 3D printing ($0.10/gram), and similar pay-as-you-go services; the vast majority of offerings — including digital resources, notary services, meeting room access for civic use, homebound delivery, and all programming — are free to cardholders. Online donations are accepted via PayPal. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, consistent with the library's status as a municipal entity.

Name

Durham Public Library

Legal name

Durham Public Library

Website

https://durhampubliclibrary.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Durham Public Library is a municipal public library serving Durham, Lee, and Madbury, New Hampshire, providing free physical and digital lending, research databases, language and continuing-education platforms, youth and adult programming, museum passes, and community services under a tax-funded, nonprofit governance model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Libraries & Information Services (BPAIACAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Library User Services & Information Support (Reference, Research Help, Instruction Support) (EDAEAGAL), Library, Reading Motivation & Independent Reading Programs (EDAMAJAO)

Keywords

• Public library services
• Digital lending platforms
• Research databases
• Language learning platforms
• Youth literacy programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Tax Funding: Primary funding from Town of Durham annual budget appropriations as required by NH law, supplemented by annual fundraising campaigns conducted by the Board of Library Trustees
2. Donations and Annual Appeal: Individual and corporate donations through annual fundraising campaigns supplement operational funding for special projects, physical and digital collections, and technology improvements
3. Fee-based Services: Nominal fees for printing (10 cents B&W, 50 cents color per page), 3D printing ($.10/gram), and other services. Notary and most services are free

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Durham Public Library is a municipal public library that provides free borrowing of physical and digital books, audiobooks, and other media; interlibrary loan; on-demand streaming video; research databases; language and continuing education platforms; 3D printing; a Library of Things equipment lending program; museum pass reservations; meeting room rentals; free notary services; homebound delivery; and age-targeted programming for children, teens, and adults. The library serves Durham, Lee, and Madbury, NH residents, plus University of New Hampshire students/faculty and Town of Durham and Oyster River School District employees, who are eligible for free library cards.

Product overview

Durham Public Library offers a comprehensive public library service combining physical and digital resources. The core offering centers on traditional lending (books, ebooks, audiobooks) augmented by digital media platforms including Overdrive/Libby, hoopla, and Kanopy. The library provides extensive digital databases (Ancestry, EBSCOhost, Novelist, Mango Languages, Universal Class) and premium news access (New York Times, Wall Street Journal). Physical services include a 3D printing lab, Library of Things collection, museum passes, meeting room rentals, notary services, homebound delivery, and extensive adult and youth programming. The library serves Durham, Lee, and Madbury, NH, with special programs like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library for preschoolers and diverse youth services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Books, eBooks and Audiobooks Lending Physical and digital lending of books, ebooks, and audiobooks to eligible library cardholders through the DPL Booksys catalog and the Overdrive/Libby and hoopla platforms. Available free to Durham, Lee, and Madbury residents, UNH students and faculty, and Town of Durham and Oyster River School District employees.
• Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service allowing eligible patrons to request books and materials from other libraries in New Hampshire at no cost, expanding the catalog beyond DPL's own collection. Includes patron purchase suggestions for items not already held.
• Kanopy Streaming On-demand film streaming service offering over 30,000 titles including documentaries, indie films, and classic cinema, with 18 viewing tickets allocated per DPL cardholder per month. Free with library card.
• hoopla Digital All-in-one media service offering 700,000+ titles across six formats (audiobooks, ebooks, comics, music, movies, TV) with instant access and no holds. Borrowing limit is four titles per month per library cardholder.
• Research & Databases Digital research resources including Ancestry Library Edition, Consumer Reports, EBSCOhost, Explora, Novelist Plus, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and additional databases for patron research. Free with library card.
• Mango Languages Language-learning platform offering 70+ world languages with culturally-specific curriculum plus ESL courses for English learners. Free with library card.
• Universal Class Online continuing education platform offering 500+ accredited courses in business, education, technology, and other subjects for adult learners. Free with library card.
• 3D Printing Service Maker space service using an Ultimaker 3 3D printer to create objects from digital designs at $0.10 per gram, accepting .stl and .obj file formats. Print projects must require less than 6 hours, with maximum object size of 8.4 x 8.4 x 7.8 inches.
• Library of Things Collection of lendable non-traditional items including metal detector, pasta making kit, car code reader, pop-up tent, DSLR camera, and two-way radios, available free to library cardholders.
• Museum Passes Discounted or free passes to 19 regional museums available through the Friends of DPL program, reserved via the library's LibCal reservation system.
• Meeting Room Rental Meeting rooms available for library programming and public gatherings of civic, cultural, or educational nature, reserved via the LibCal system.
• Notary Public Services Free notary services by appointment with three notaries on staff, limited to three documents per visit.
• Homebound Delivery Service Free delivery of up to 10 library items at a time to homebound Durham residents who cannot visit the library in person, with the library striving to deliver within one week.
• Ancestry Library Edition Genealogy database available for in-library use only, providing access to censuses, vital records, and trans-ocean ship records for family history research.
• Printing, Copying & Scanning Self-service printing at $0.10 per page (black and white, single or double sided) or $0.50 per page (color), with same rates for copying. Scanning is free.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Partnership program with Oyster River Parents & Preschoolers providing free age-appropriate books mailed monthly to children from birth through age five residing in Durham, Lee, and Madbury.

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oyster River Parents & Preschoolers (ORPP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerORPP partners with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to provide free books to preschool children in Durham, Lee, and Madbury. The library supports this program and serves as a community connection point. Books are mailed directly to registered children until age 5.
• University of New Hampshire (UNH) / Dimond LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNH students and faculty are eligible for Durham Public Library cards. The Dimond Library at UNH also serves as a resource, with Durham residents eligible for UNH library cards. Joint programming and resource sharing between institutions.
• Oyster River Cooperative School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe library serves the school district covering Durham, Lee, and Madbury. School district employees receive library cards. Partnership includes youth programming, summer reading, and educational resources for students.
• Friends of the Durham Public LibrarycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupport organization established 1997. Provides museum passes, sponsors Patch Program reading incentive, operates Friends Bookstore, organizes cookie basket sales, supports Summer Family Concert Series, and underwrites budget items. Conducts annual fundraising campaigns.
• Durham Historic AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 1961, the Association maintains a museum on the second floor of old Town Hall with local history objects and genealogical archives. DPL provides access to local history resources and connects patrons to Association services.
• 19 Regional MuseumsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFriends of DPL provides museum passes for 19 museums, offering discounted or free admission. Museums include various cultural and educational institutions in the region.
• Town of DurhamcoreOthersThe Town of Durham owns the library building and provides operational funding through annual budget appropriations as required by NH law. DPW maintains building and grounds. Town business office handles payroll, expenditures, and annual audit.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Portsmouth Public Library: New Hampshire seacoast municipal public library with similar community library operating model, digital platform mix (hoopla, Kanopy, Libby), museum passes, and youth/adult programming. Direct regional peer given shared NH municipal context.
• Concord Public Library (NH): New Hampshire state-capital public library offering similar lending, digital, and programming services to a comparable small-city community. Direct regional peer in the same state with the same municipal funding structure.
• Cambridge Public Library: Massachusetts municipal public library of comparable small-city scale to Durham, NH. Serves a university-adjacent community with similar patron mix (students, families, faculty), offers digital lending, programming, and community partnerships — a strong size and operating-model match to DPL.
• Brookline Public Library: Suburban Massachusetts public library serving a town similar in scale and demographics to Durham, NH. Closely comparable on physical lending, digital resources, museum passes, children's/youth programming, and Friends-of-the-Library fundraising model.
• Nashua Public Library: New Hampshire municipal public library serving a single city with a similar combination of physical lending, digital resources, museum passes, and community programming. Comparable New Hampshire municipal-library operating structure to DPL.

Broad incumbents

• New York Public Library: The nation's largest municipal public library system, serving NYC's boroughs with branches, digital lending, and programming. Directly comparable as a public library operator with overlapping product lines (physical lending, ebooks/streaming, museum passes, community programs), though at vastly larger scale and a different geography.
• Seattle Public Library: Major metropolitan public library with strong digital lending, streaming, and community programming portfolio. Comparable on product mix and the public library operating model, though serving a much larger and more urban patron base than Durham, NH.
• Cuyahoga County Public Library: Large suburban public library system in Ohio, notable for its Library of Things and maker-space-style add-ons (3D printing, equipment lending). Strongly comparable to DPL on product mix beyond traditional lending, though at much larger scale.
• Free Library of Philadelphia: Major municipal public library with a similarly diverse offering including physical lending, extensive digital resources, community programming, and partnerships with schools and universities. Comparable in mission and product breadth though at metropolitan scale.
• Boston Public Library: Major municipal public library system in Boston with similar New England operating context, branch lending model, digital resource platform (Overdrive/Libby), research databases, and community programming. Comparable in mission and core services to DPL.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmZXQrx8Diwezl-Z6ojbzXA?view_as=subscriber%20
• Facebookfacebook.com/durhampubliclibrary.org
• Instagraminstagram.com/durhampl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/durham-public-library

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Durham Public Library