Northford Center · Photo: Jerry Dougherty · CC BY 2.5North Branford’s library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
North Branford Library Department serves North Branford’s 13,415 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 108K books, movies and e-books and logged 72K visits.
What stands out about North Branford’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind North Branford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Branford is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #94 of 155 in Connecticut. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in North Branford
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.7%
6.7% of North Branford’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.5% in the typical Connecticut town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where North Branford’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in North Branford last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Branford Library Department serves 13,415 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
108K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 65K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
17,794 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in North Branford
North Branford Library Department, 1720 Foxon Rd., North 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 North Branford? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in North Branford
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Branford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $923K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $923K 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 3,303 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Branford ranks 5th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | Durham Public Library | 16.6 | 57 | A |
| Guilford | Guilford Free Library | 13.2 | 61 | A |
| Wallingford | Wallingford Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 65 | B |
| North Haven | North Haven Memorial Library fine-free | 8.1 | 52 | B |
| North Branford | North Branford Library Department fine-free | 8.0 | 54 | B− |
| Northford | Edward Smith Library fine-free | 8.0 | 54 | — graded as part of its town |
| Branford | James Blackstone Memorial Library fine-free | 7.5 | 62 | B+ |
| East Haven | Hagaman Memorial Library fine-free | 2.5 | 48 | C− |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 North Branford
Does North Branford have a public library?
Yes. North Branford Library Department, 1720 Foxon Rd., serves North Branford’s 13,415 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Branford Library Department 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 North Branford’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Branford’s civic life grade?
B− North Branford is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #94 of 155 in Connecticut. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in North Branford.
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.