Steep Falls Library · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Standish’s library logs 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Richville Library serves Standish’s 10,820 residents. Last year it lent 610 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,125 visits.
Standish’s library, in brief
Richville Library is used less than most libraries its size
Richville Library records 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $1 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Open only about 7 hours a week
Richville Library keeps short hours: about 7 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Baxter Memorial Library in Gorham, next door, is open about 48 hours a week. The buildings ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
56% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 44%. What your card is worth ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Standish’s library lends 0.1 items per resident. Each of the nine neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Gorham at 7.5. Libraries next door ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Richville Library offered 28 programs last year, 2.6 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 Standish’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Standish is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns, #125 of 143 in Maine. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($78K–$131K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Standish
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.2%
9.2% of Standish’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 Standish’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Richville Library serves 10,820 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
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
610 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,204 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
28 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 Standish last year.
2 places to borrow in Standish
Richville Library, 743 Richville Road, Standish.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Standish? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Standish
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Standish cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $7,451.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7,451 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 208 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Standish ranks 10th of 10 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorham | Baxter Memorial Library fine-free | 7.5 | 48 | A− |
| Windham | Windham Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 46 | B |
| Raymond | Raymond Village Library fine-free | 4.6 | 37 | B |
| Sebago | Spaulding Memorial Library fine-free | 1.9 | 22 | B+ |
| Limington | Davis Memorial Library fine-free | 1.9 | 29 | C |
| Hollis | Hollis Center Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 21 | C |
| Baldwin | Brown Memorial Library - Baldwin fine-free | 1.0 | 15 | B+ |
| Buxton | West Buxton Public Library Association fine-free | 0.2 | 12 | C− |
| Steep Falls | Steep Falls Library fine-free | 0.2 | 28 | — graded as part of its town |
| Standish | Richville Library fine-free | 0.1 | 7 | C |
| North Windham | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Standish
Does Standish have a public library?
Yes. Richville Library, 743 Richville Road, serves Standish’s 10,820 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 7 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richville Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Standish’s library?
It logged 0.1 visits and lent 0.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Standish’s civic life grade?
C Standish is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on civic life, #125 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 Standish.
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.