Photo: Cinclemflt · CC BY-SA 3.0Anson’s library logs 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Stewart Public Library serves Anson’s 3,261 residents. Last year it lent 769 books, movies and e-books and logged 624 visits.
Anson’s library, in brief
Stewart Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Stewart Public Library records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $4 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Anson’s library lends 0.2 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by New Portland at 1.6. Libraries next door ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Stewart Public Library offered 2 programs last year, 0.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 12 hours a week
Stewart Public Library keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Madison Public Library in Madison, next door, is open about 48 hours a week. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
30% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Anson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Anson is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. Anson is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Anson’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$66K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Anson
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.2%
10.2% of Anson’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.0% in the typical Maine 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 Anson’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Stewart Public Library serves 3,261 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
769 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,534 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
2 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Anson last year.
Find it
Stewart Public Library, 37 Elm Street, North Anson.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Anson? 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 $1.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Anson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $14K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $15K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14K 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 179 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Anson ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Portland | New Portland Community Library fine-free | 1.6 | 13 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Madison | Madison Public Library | 1.6 | 48 | C+ |
| New Vineyard | New Vineyard Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Anson | Stewart Public Library fine-free | 0.2 | 12 | C+ |
| Embden | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Industry | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Starks | 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 Anson
Does Anson have a public library?
Yes. Stewart Public Library, 37 Elm Street, serves Anson’s 3,261 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stewart Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Anson’s library?
It logged 0.2 visits and lent 0.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Anson’s civic life grade?
C+ Anson is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Anson.
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.