Andrew Welch Homestead · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Parsonsfield’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Kezar Falls Circulating Library serves Parsonsfield’s 3,468 residents. Last year it lent 1,297 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,296 visits.
Parsonsfield’s library, in brief
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.
What’s behind Parsonsfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Parsonsfield is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. Parsonsfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Parsonsfield’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Parsonsfield
7.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.3%
11.3% of Parsonsfield’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 Parsonsfield’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2021
Kezar Falls Circulating Library, 2 Wadleigh Street, Parsonsfield.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Parsonsfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Kezar Falls Circulating Library serves 3,468 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,297 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
31 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Parsonsfield last year.
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 Parsonsfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $22K.
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.
Libraries next door
Parsonsfield ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornish | Bonney Memorial Library fine-free | 6.8 | 21 | B− |
| Limerick | Limerick Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 29 | C− |
| Effingham | Effingham Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 21 | B− |
| Hiram | Soldiers Memorial Library fine-free | 0.8 | 19 | B |
| Parsonsfield | Kezar Falls Circulating Library fine-free | 0.4 | 15 | A+ |
| Kezar Falls | Kezar Falls Circulating Library fine-free | 0.4 | 15 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Porter | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Newfield | None of its own | — | — | A |
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 Parsonsfield
Does Parsonsfield have a public library?
Yes. Kezar Falls Circulating Library, 2 Wadleigh Street, serves Parsonsfield’s 3,468 residents (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 Parsonsfield’s 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 Parsonsfield’s civic life grade?
A+ Parsonsfield is ahead of 95% 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 Parsonsfield.
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.