Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Steep Falls’ library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Steep Falls Library serves Steep Falls’s 10,820 residents. Last year it lent 1,810 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,724 visits.
What Steep Falls’s library is like
Steep Falls Library is used less than most libraries its size
Steep Falls Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $5 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
79% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 21%. What your card is worth ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Steep Falls Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004. Today’s library there has 1,700 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people Steep Falls Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
100% of the 116 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 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 Steep Falls’ civic life grade
Steep Falls isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
A National Register landmark since 2004
Steep Falls Library, 1128 Pequawket Trail, Steep Falls.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Steep Falls? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Steep Falls Library
Steep Falls Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 15, 2004. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The Steep Falls Library, also known historically as the Pierce Memorial Library, is a public library in the Steep Falls village in the town of Standish, Maine, USA. Built in 1917 and enlarged in 1924, it was a gift to the community of Henry Pierce, a Standish native who made a business fortune in California. The building, a handsome Colonial Revival structure designed by Edward F.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Steep Falls 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 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,810 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,015 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
116 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Steep Falls last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Steep Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $58K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $58K 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 930 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Steep Falls ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. 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 Steep Falls
Does Steep Falls have a public library?
Yes. Steep Falls Library, 1128 Pequawket Trail, serves Steep Falls’ 10,820 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Steep Falls Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Steep Falls’ library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 0.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Steep Falls’ civic life grade?
Steep 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 Steep Falls.
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.