Enfield’s library logs 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Cole Memorial Library serves Enfield’s 1,441 residents. Last year it logged 150 visits.
Enfield’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
87% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 13%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Cole Memorial Library offered 2 programs last year, 1.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Cole Memorial Library serves 1,441 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 38 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 ↓
Runs on less money than most
Cole Memorial Library spends $1 per resident, less than 99% 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 Enfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Enfield is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Enfield’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Cole Memorial Library spends $1 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Enfield
2.6 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.
4.9%
4.9% of Enfield’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 Enfield’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cole Memorial Library serves 1,441 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Cole Memorial Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 199 items borrowed against 150 visits, so we leave the count out.
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.
Find it
Cole Memorial Library, 789 Hammett Road, Enfield.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Enfield? 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 Enfield resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $1,672.
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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 1,441 people it serves ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enfield | Cole Memorial Library fine-free | — | 38 | D− |
| Lowell | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Passadumkeag | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Cole Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it 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 Enfield
Does Enfield have a public library?
Yes. Cole Memorial Library, 789 Hammett Road, serves Enfield’s 1,441 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cole Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Enfield’s library?
It logged 0.1 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Enfield’s civic life grade?
D− Enfield is ahead of 5% 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 Enfield.
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.