Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Harrison’s library runs 64 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Harrison Village Library serves Harrison’s 2,541 residents. Last year it lent 9,859 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,809 visits.
Harrison’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
44% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 56%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 163 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Harrison’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Harrison is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #40 of 143 in Maine. Harrison’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Harrison
9.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Harrison’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 Harrison’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Harrison Village Library serves 2,541 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,859 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,583 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
1,260 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Harrison last year.
2 places to borrow in Harrison
Harrison Village Library, 4 Front Street, Harrison.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Harrison? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Harrison
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harrison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $173K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 1,036 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Harrison ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | Norway Memorial Library fine-free | 5.9 | 39 | B+ |
| Bridgton | Bridgton Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 29 | A− |
| Harrison | Harrison Village Library fine-free | 3.9 | 25 | B+ |
| Naples | Naples Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 28 | B+ |
| Waterford | Waterford Library Association fine-free | 2.5 | 17 | A |
| Otisfield | None of its own | — | — | B |
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 Harrison
Does Harrison have a public library?
Yes. Harrison Village Library, 4 Front Street, serves Harrison’s 2,541 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harrison Village 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 Harrison’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Harrison’s civic life grade?
B+ Harrison is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 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 Harrison.
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.