Photo: Llamero at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5Waterford’s library runs 146 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Waterford Library Association serves Waterford’s 1,633 residents. Last year it lent 4,040 print books and media and logged 5,546 visits.
Waterford’s library, in brief
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
Waterford’s library lends 2.5 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Norway at 5.9. Libraries next door ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Waterford Library Association keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Norway Memorial Library in Norway, next door, is open about 39 hours a week. The building ↓
A small-town library
Waterford Library Association serves 1,633 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 ↓
Programs lean toward adults
73% of the 239 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Waterford’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Waterford is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Waterford is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Waterford’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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Waterford
10.0 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Waterford’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 Waterford’s residents live; 2022.
239 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 Waterford last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Waterford Library Association serves 1,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,040 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,910 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Waterford Library Association, 663 Waterford Road, Waterford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Waterford? 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 $3.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waterford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $102K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 991 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Waterford ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | Norway Memorial Library fine-free | 5.9 | 39 | B+ |
| Lovell | Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library fine-free | 5.4 | 38 | A+ |
| Bridgton | Bridgton Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 29 | A− |
| Harrison | Harrison Village Library fine-free | 3.9 | 25 | B+ |
| Waterford | Waterford Library Association fine-free | 2.5 | 17 | A |
| Stoneham | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sweden | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Waterford
Does Waterford have a public library?
Yes. Waterford Library Association, 663 Waterford Road, serves Waterford’s 1,633 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waterford Library Association 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 Waterford’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Waterford’s civic life grade?
A Waterford is ahead of 92% 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 Waterford.
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.