Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Sanford’s library runs 8.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Goodall Memorial Library serves Sanford’s 22,251 residents. Last year it lent 50K books, movies and e-books and logged 54K visits.
The short version on Sanford’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
58% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 42%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Goodall Memorial Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 181 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Louis B. Goodall Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2008. Today’s library there has 14,280 square feet. The buildings ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Goodall Memorial Library offered 181 programs last year, 8.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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 Sanford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sanford is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #60 of 143 in Maine. Library visits hold the grade up; Sanford’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
82 community nonprofits are registered in Sanford
3.7 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Sanford’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 Sanford’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2008
Goodall Memorial Library, 952 Main Street, Sanford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sanford? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Louis B. Goodall Memorial Library
Goodall, Louis B., Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 24, 2008. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The Louis B. Goodall Memorial Library is the public library serving Sanford, Maine. It is located at 952 Main Street, in an architecturally distinguished Colonial Revival brick building built in 1937, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
More about the building →Other libraries in Sanford
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Goodall Memorial Library serves 22,251 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
50K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 50K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
6,746 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Sanford last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sanford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $599K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $818K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $599K 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 3,528 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Sanford ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Berwick | D.A. Hurd Library fine-free | 5.3 | 38 | B+ |
| Alfred | Parsons Memorial Library fine-free | 3.4 | 26 | C+ |
| Sanford | Goodall Memorial Library fine-free | 2.3 | 54 | B+ |
| Shapleigh | Shapleigh Community Library fine-free | 1.3 | 16 | C− |
| Lebanon | Martha Sawyer Community Library fine-free | 0.5 | 20 | D |
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. Goodall 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 Sanford
Does Sanford have a public library?
Yes. Goodall Memorial Library, 952 Main Street, serves Sanford’s 22,251 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Goodall 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 Sanford’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sanford’s civic life grade?
B+ Sanford is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #60 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 Sanford.
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.