Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Van Buren’s library logs 1.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library serves 2,302 people in and around Van Buren. Last year it lent 4,955 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,796 visits.
What stands out about Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Van Buren’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Van Buren is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. Van Buren’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($30K–$50K) 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Van Buren
6.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.8%
3.8% of Van Buren’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 Van Buren’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library serves 2,302 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, for the whole Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,955 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
500 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
38 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library, 153 Main Street, Van Buren.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library branch.
New in Van Buren? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Van Buren cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $82K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $76K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $82K 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 915 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.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren | Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library fine-free | — | 31 | C |
| Grand Isle | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hamlin | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cyr plantation | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library serves 2,302 people in and around Van Buren, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Van Buren.
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 Van Buren
Does Van Buren have a public library?
Yes. Abel J. Morneault Memorial Library, 153 Main Street, serves 2,302 people in and around Van Buren (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Abel J. Morneault 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 Van Buren’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Van Buren’s civic life grade?
C Van Buren is ahead of 28% 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 Van Buren.
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.