Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Stamford’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Stamford Community serves Stamford’s 918 residents. Last year it lent 2,274 print books and media and logged 999 visits.
Stamford’s library, in brief
Open only about 16 hours a week
Stamford Community keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Stamford Community serves 918 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Stamford Community offered 8 programs last year, 8.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Stamford Community records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, below 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Stamford’s civic life grade
Stamford 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Stamford Community serves 918 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. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,274 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Stamford’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 9,230 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Stamford Community, 986 Main Rd., Stamford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Stamford? 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 $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stamford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $33K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $40K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33K 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 605 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Stamford ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarksburg | Clarksburg Town Library fine-free | 6.2 | 27 | C+ |
| Stamford | Stamford Community fine-free | 2.5 | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Pownal | Solomon Wright Public fine-free | 1.2 | 26 | C+ |
| Readsboro | Readsboro Community fine-free | — | 15 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Woodford | 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. Vermont libraries often don’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 Stamford
Does Stamford have a public library?
Yes. Stamford Community, 986 Main Rd., serves Stamford’s 918 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stamford Community 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 Stamford’s library?
It logged 1.1 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 Stamford’s civic life grade?
Stamford 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 Stamford.
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.