Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0East Machias’ library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Sturdivant Public Library serves East Machias’s 1,343 residents. Last year it lent 1,381 print books and media and logged 915 visits.
What East Machias’s library is like
Sturdivant Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Sturdivant Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Sturdivant Public Library serves 1,343 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Sturdivant Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Sturdivant Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Sturdivant Public Library spends $9 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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 East Machias’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Machias is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in East Machias
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
11.1%
11.1% of East Machias’ 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 East Machias’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sturdivant Public Library serves 1,343 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,381 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 6,751 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 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 East Machias last year.
Find it
Sturdivant Public Library, 514 Main Street, East Machias.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in East Machias? 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Machias cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $12K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $23K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12K 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 300 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Machias | Sturdivant Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 21 | B− |
| Machiasport | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Marshfield | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 East Machias
Does East Machias have a public library?
Yes. Sturdivant Public Library, 514 Main Street, serves East Machias’ 1,343 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sturdivant Public Library 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 East Machias’ library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is East Machias’ civic life grade?
B− East Machias is ahead of 53% 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 East Machias.
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.