Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0Northford’s library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
North Branford Library Department serves 13,415 people in and around Northford. Last year it lent 108K books, movies and e-books and logged 72K visits.
What stands out about Northford’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Northford’s civic life grade
Northford 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 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.
Find it
Edward Smith Library, 3 Old Post 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 Northford? 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 $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northford 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
Northford ranks 5th of 7 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 |
| Northford | Edward Smith Library fine-free | 8.0 | 54 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Branford | North Branford Library Department fine-free | 8.0 | 54 | 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 Northford
Does Northford have a public library?
Yes. North Branford Library Department, 3 Old Post Rd., serves 13,415 people in and around Northford (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 Northford’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 Northford’s civic life grade?
Northford 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 Northford.
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.