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Kezar Falls Circulating Library

Kezar Falls’ library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Kezar Falls Circulating Library serves 3,468 people in and around Kezar Falls. Last year it lent 1,297 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,296 visits.

2 Wadleigh Street, Parsonsfield 04047 · about 15 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
1,297
0.4 per resident
Visits a year
1,296
0.4 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
31
about 1 a week · 208 attended
Cardholders
7%
249 cards
Open
15 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Kezar Falls’s library

Kezar Falls Circulating Library is used less than most libraries its size

Kezar Falls Circulating Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $6 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

48% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 52%. What your card is worth ↓

Open only about 15 hours a week

Kezar Falls Circulating Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

The library is a National Register landmark

Kezar Falls Circulating Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2021. Today’s library there has 1,100 square feet. The building ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Kezar Falls Circulating Library offered 31 programs last year, 8.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Kezar Falls’ civic life grade

Kezar Falls isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Kezar Falls’ overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · The building

A National Register landmark since 2021

Kezar Falls Circulating Library, 2 Wadleigh Street, Parsonsfield.

15
hours open a week
1,100
square feet
11K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Kezar Falls? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

The building’s story

Kezar Falls Circulating Library

Kezar Falls Circulating Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 8, 2021. It is significant for its architecture, education and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.

More about the building →
How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.4 visits · typical 3Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.4 print items · typical 3.8Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0 e-items · typical 1Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.5Bottom 10%
Programs offered 8.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 86%
Cardholders 7% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $6 per resident · typical $43Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Kezar Falls Circulating Library serves 3,468 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

1,296
visits
0.4 per resident
1,297
loans, print + digital
0.4 per resident
31
programs & events
208 attended
249
library cards
7% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week4people at a program
Every week25visits
2 public computers11K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

1,297 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1,297loans
Books & media (adults) 68%Kids’ books & media 32%E-books, audio & streaming 0%
How hard the shelves work
0.1×

Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

31 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Kezar Falls →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–56
Ages 6–116
Teens0
Adults14
All ages5
Little ones
0.1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

410
kids’ books & media borrowed
208
people at programs
31
programs
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.01 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kezar Falls cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$6 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $22K.

Local taxes 52%Gifts & other 48%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $22K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K 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 249 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Kezar Falls ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
HiramSoldiers Memorial Library fine-free0.819B
Kezar FallsKezar Falls Circulating Library fine-free0.415— under 1,000 residents
ParsonsfieldKezar Falls Circulating Library fine-free0.415A+

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Kezar Falls

Does Kezar Falls have a public library?

Yes. Kezar Falls Circulating Library, 2 Wadleigh Street, serves 3,468 people in and around Kezar Falls (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Kezar Falls Circulating Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Kezar Falls’ library?

It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Kezar Falls’ civic life grade?

Kezar Falls isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Kezar Falls.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.