Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Bradford’s library runs 92 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Bradford Public serves Bradford’s 2,802 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,584 visits.
Bradford’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 48%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 257 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 107 were for children. 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 Bradford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bradford is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #30 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bradford’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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Bradford
7.2 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.7%
9.7% of Bradford’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Vermont 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 Bradford’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bradford Public serves 2,802 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Bradford’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,891 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bradford Public, 21 S. Main St., Bradford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bradford? 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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bradford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $115K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $222K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $115K 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 1,586 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bradford ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairlee | Fairlee Public fine-free | 9.5 | 25 | B+ |
| Piermont | Piermont Public Library fine-free | 7.9 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bradford | Bradford Public fine-free | 4.3 | 28 | A− |
| Orford | Orford Free Library fine-free | 3.8 | 14 | A |
| West Fairlee | West Fairlee Free Public fine-free | 2.0 | 7 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Newbury | Baldwin Memorial fine-free | — | 20 | B |
| Corinth | Blake Memorial fine-free | — | 18 | C+ |
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 Bradford
Does Bradford have a public library?
Yes. Bradford Public, 21 S. Main St., serves Bradford’s 2,802 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bradford Public 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 Bradford’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bradford’s civic life grade?
A− Bradford is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #30 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Bradford.
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.