Thompson Icehouse · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0South Bristol’s library lends 2.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Rutherford Library serves South Bristol’s 1,145 residents. Last year it lent 2,952 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,038 visits.
What South Bristol’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
83% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 17%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Rutherford Library serves 1,145 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Rutherford Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Rutherford Library holds 22,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind South Bristol’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, South Bristol is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. South Bristol is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; South Bristol’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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in South Bristol
5.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Rutherford Library serves 1,145 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,952 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
303 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
39 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Rutherford Library, 2000 State Route 129, South Bristol.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Bristol? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Bristol cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $53K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $68K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $53K 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 859 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
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 South Bristol
Does South Bristol have a public library?
Yes. Rutherford Library, 2000 State Route 129, serves South Bristol’s 1,145 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rutherford 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 South Bristol’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is South Bristol’s civic life grade?
B+ South Bristol is ahead of 72% 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 South Bristol.
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.