Curtis, John B., Free Public Library · Photo: Jamie Dacyczyn · CC BY 2.0Bradford’s library logs 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
John B. Curtis Free Public Library serves Bradford’s 1,207 residents. Last year it lent 2,354 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,180 visits.
Bradford’s library, in brief
Open only about 9 hours a week
John B. Curtis Free Public Library keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Programs are almost all for children
92% of the 63 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 29 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
John B. Curtis Free Public Library serves 1,207 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 ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 77% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 54% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
33% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 67%. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Bradford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bradford is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns. Bradford’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
John B. Curtis Free Public Library spends $11 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($62K–$104K) 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 Bradford
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.5%
5.5% of Bradford’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 Bradford’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1997
John B. Curtis Free Public Library, 435 Main Rd, Bradford.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
John B. Curtis Free Public Library
Curtis, John B., Free Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 14, 1997. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-classical Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The John B. Curtis Free Public Library is the public library of Bradford, Maine. It is located at 435 Main Road in the village center, in an architecturally distinguished 1915 Classical Revival building designed by John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
John B. Curtis Free Public Library serves 1,207 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,354 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bradford last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bradford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $13K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 59 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | John B. Curtis Free Public Library | 2.0 | 9 | C− |
| Charleston | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Hudson | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Alton | 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 Bradford
Does Bradford have a public library?
Yes. John B. Curtis Free Public Library, 435 Main Rd, serves Bradford’s 1,207 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is John B. Curtis Free Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bradford’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bradford’s civic life grade?
C− Bradford is ahead of 22% 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 Bradford.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.