Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0South Windham’s library runs 138 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc. serves 1,475 people in and around South Windham. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,340 visits.
South Windham’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
48% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 52%. What your card is worth ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 75% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 70%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc. serves 1,475 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 204 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc. serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind South Windham’s civic life grade
South Windham 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 3 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc. serves 1,475 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
507 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc, 17 Main St., Windham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Windham? 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 $1.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Windham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $103K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $175K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $103K 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 189 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Windham ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon | Jonathan Trumbull Library fine-free | 8.1 | 42 | B |
| South Windham | Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc fine-free | 7.4 | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Windham | Willimantic Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 44 | C− |
| Willimantic | Willimantic Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 44 | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 South Windham
Does South Windham have a public library?
Yes. Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc., 17 Main St., serves 1,475 people in and around South Windham (the survey’s count).
Is Guilford Smith Memorial Library, Inc. 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 South Windham’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is South Windham’s civic life grade?
South Windham 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 South Windham.
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.