Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Thetford’s library runs 71 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Latham Memorial serves Thetford’s 2,521 residents. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
Thetford’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,073 cards for 2,521 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Most of Thetford’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 63% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 37%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
34% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 66%. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Latham Memorial logs about 29 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 4.2 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Thetford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Thetford is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #17 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Thetford’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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Thetford
12.4 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.
9.9%
9.9% of Thetford’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 Thetford’s residents live; 2022.
63% of borrowing is digital
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
17,399 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Latham Memorial serves 2,521 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Thetford last year.
2 places to borrow in Thetford
Latham Memorial, 16 Library Ln., Thetford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Thetford? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Thetford
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thetford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $158K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $455K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $158K 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 3,073 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Thetford ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Thetford
Does Thetford have a public library?
Yes. Latham Memorial, 16 Library Ln., serves Thetford’s 2,521 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Latham Memorial 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 Thetford’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 11.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Thetford’s civic life grade?
A Thetford is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 Thetford.
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.