Art Gallery · Photo: Patrick Higgins · CC BY-SA 3.0Gorham’s library logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Baxter Memorial Library serves Gorham’s 18,346 residents. Last year it lent 137K books, movies and e-books and logged 72K visits.
Gorham’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
80% of the 352 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 75% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Gorham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Gorham is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #39 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
73 community nonprofits are registered in Gorham
4.0 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.3%
11.3% of Gorham’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 Gorham’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Baxter Memorial Library serves 18,346 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
137K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
39,647 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Gorham last year.
2 places to borrow in Gorham
Baxter Memorial Library, 71 South Street, Gorham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Gorham? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Gorham
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gorham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $730K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $730K 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 5,084 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Gorham ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarborough | Scarborough Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 51 | B+ |
| Gorham | Baxter Memorial Library fine-free | 7.5 | 48 | A− |
| Windham | Windham Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 46 | B |
| Westbrook | Walker Memorial Library fine-free | 2.9 | 42 | B− |
| Buxton | West Buxton Public Library Association fine-free | 0.2 | 12 | C− |
| Standish | Richville Library fine-free | 0.1 | 7 | C |
| Little Falls | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| South Windham | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| North Windham | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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. Baxter Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Gorham
Does Gorham have a public library?
Yes. Baxter Memorial Library, 71 South Street, serves Gorham’s 18,346 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Baxter Memorial 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 Gorham’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Gorham’s civic life grade?
A− Gorham is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #39 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 Gorham.
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.