Allagash’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Faye O'Leary Hafford Library serves Allagash’s 236 residents. Last year it lent 3,077 books, movies and e-books and logged 251 visits.
What Allagash’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
92% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 8%. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 6 hours a week
Faye O'Leary Hafford Library keeps short hours: about 6 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 90%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Faye O'Leary Hafford Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Faye O'Leary Hafford Library serves 236 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 ↓
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 Allagash’s civic life grade
Allagash 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,077 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,026 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Faye O'Leary Hafford Library serves 236 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Find it
Faye O'Leary Hafford Library, 1063 Allagash Road, Allagash.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Allagash? 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 $60.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Allagash cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $768.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $47K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $768 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 42 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allagash | Faye O'Leary Hafford Library fine-free | 13.0 | 6 | — under 1,000 residents |
| St. Francis | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Allagash
Does Allagash have a public library?
Yes. Faye O'Leary Hafford Library, 1063 Allagash Road, serves Allagash’s 236 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 6 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Faye O'Leary Hafford Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Allagash’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 13.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Allagash’s civic life grade?
Allagash 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 Allagash.
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.