Photo: Curtis B. Johnson · Public domainStrafford’s library runs 29 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Morrill Mem. & Harris serves Strafford’s 1,341 residents. Last year it lent 5,577 print books and media and drew 537 people to its programs.
What Strafford’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
52% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 47%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Morrill Mem. & Harris serves 1,341 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Morrill Mem. & Harris keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Royalton Memorial in Royalton, next door, is open about 36 hours a week. The building ↓
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 Strafford’s civic life grade
Strafford isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Strafford
13.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Morrill Mem. & Harris serves 1,341 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.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,577 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 Strafford’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 12K 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.
39 programs a year
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.
Find it
Morrill Memorial & Harris, 220 Justin Morrill Hwy., Strafford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Strafford? 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 $1.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Strafford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $63K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $100K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $63K 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 542 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Strafford ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thetford | Latham Memorial fine-free | 11.0 | 30 | A |
| Sharon | Baxter Memorial fine-free | 4.6 | 22 | A |
| Strafford | Morrill Memorial & Harris fine-free | 4.2 | 20 | — too few inputs |
| Royalton | Royalton Memorial fine-free | 2.9 | 36 | A− |
| West Fairlee | West Fairlee Free Public fine-free | 2.0 | 7 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Tunbridge | Tunbridge Public fine-free | — | 25 | A+ |
| Vershire | Vershire Community | — | — | — 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Morrill Mem. & Harris didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2023 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- 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 Strafford
Does Strafford have a public library?
Yes. Morrill Mem. & Harris, 220 Justin Morrill Hwy., serves Strafford’s 1,341 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Morrill Mem. & Harris 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 Strafford’s library?
It lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 39 programs that drew 537 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Strafford’s civic life grade?
Strafford isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Strafford.
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.