Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Farmington’s library logs 4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Farmington Public Library serves Farmington’s 8,425 residents. Last year it lent 42K print books and media and logged 34K visits.
What Farmington’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Cutler Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973. Today’s library there has 4,274 square feet. The building ↓
Farmington out-borrows every town next door
At 5 loans per resident, Farmington leads the five towns here. The closest is Wilton, at 4. Libraries next door ↓
Top 10% in Maine for kids’ borrowing
Farmington ranks #9 of 97 Maine towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Farmington Public Library logs about 110 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 19 public computers. That’s 4.8 sessions per resident a year. 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.
What’s behind Farmington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Farmington is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #38 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Farmington’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Farmington
6.7 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Farmington’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 Farmington’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Farmington Public Library serves 8,425 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
42K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs 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 Farmington last year.
A National Register landmark since 1973
Farmington Public Library, 117 Academy Street, Farmington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Farmington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Cutler Memorial Library
Cutler Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 2, 1973. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux-Arts.
The Cutler Memorial Library building houses the public library of Farmington, Maine. It is located at 117 Academy Street (corner of High Street), between the downtown area and the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Farmington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $358K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $764K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $358K 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 2,456 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Farmington borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmington | Farmington Public Library fine-free | 5.0 | 36 | A− |
| Wilton | Wilton Free Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 31 | B− |
| Strong | Strong Public Library | 2.0 | 14 | C− |
| New Sharon | Jim Ditzler Memorial Library fine-free | 1.6 | 17 | C |
| New Vineyard | New Vineyard Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Chesterville | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Industry | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Temple | 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 Farmington
Does Farmington have a public library?
Yes. Farmington Public Library, 117 Academy Street, serves Farmington’s 8,425 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Farmington 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 Farmington’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 5.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Farmington’s civic life grade?
A− Farmington is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #38 of 143 in Maine. 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 Farmington.
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.