Photo: Kenneth Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Branford Center’s library runs 35 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
James Blackstone Memorial Library serves 28,031 people in and around Branford Center. Last year it lent 210K books, movies and e-books and logged 123K visits.
What Branford Center’s library is like
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
James Blackstone Memorial Library ran 970 programs last year, about 19 a week. That’s 35 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
James Blackstone Memorial Library serves more than Branford Center
The library’s service area covers 28,031 people in and around Branford Center, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 970 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 322 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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.
What’s behind Branford Center’s civic life grade
Branford Center isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
James Blackstone Memorial Library serves 28,031 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 65 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
210K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 60K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
51,344 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
James Blackstone Memorial Library, 758 Main St., Branford.
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 Branford Center? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Branford Center cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 8,100 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- 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.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Branford Center
Does Branford Center have a public library?
Yes. James Blackstone Memorial Library, 758 Main St., serves 28,031 people in and around Branford Center (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is James Blackstone Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Branford Center’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Branford Center’s civic life grade?
Branford Center isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Branford Center.
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.