Photo: Cptproton79 · CC BY-SA 4.0Hartford’s library runs 5.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Hartford/Elmendaro Township serves 879 people in and around Hartford. Last year it lent 4,469 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,000 visits.
The short version on Hartford’s library
A small-town library
Hartford/Elmendaro Township serves 879 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 31 hours a week. 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 ↓
Hartford/Elmendaro Township serves more than Hartford
The library’s service area covers 879 people in and around Hartford, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Hartford/Elmendaro Township logs about 16 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 3 public computers. That’s 6.6 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Hartford’s civic life grade
Hartford 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hartford/Elmendaro Township serves 879 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending and funding. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,469 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,424 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
1,334 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
5 programs a year
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.
Find it
Hartford/Elmendaro Township, 224 Commercial St., Hartford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hartford? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hartford cardholder borrows.
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 298 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending and funding. 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 Hartford
Does Hartford have a public library?
Yes. Hartford/Elmendaro Township, 224 Commercial St., serves 879 people in and around Hartford (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hartford/Elmendaro Township 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 Hartford’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hartford’s civic life grade?
Hartford 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 Hartford.
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.