Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Waterford’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Davies Memorial serves Waterford’s 1,463 residents. Last year it lent 1,424 print books and media and logged 901 visits.
Waterford’s library, in brief
Davies Memorial is used less than most libraries its size
Davies Memorial records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Waterford’s library lends 1 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Littleton at 5.3. Libraries next door ↓
A small-town library
Davies Memorial serves 1,463 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 70 hours a week. 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 about 70 hours a week
Davies Memorial is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Davies Memorial spends $19 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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 library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Waterford is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Davies Memorial spends $19 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($82K–$137K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for 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 →
Waterford has few registered community nonprofits
0.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
7.5%
7.5% of Waterford’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 Waterford’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Davies Memorial serves 1,463 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Davies Memorial
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1,424 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,961 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.
66 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Waterford last year.
Find it
Davies Memorial, 111 Lower Waterford Rd., Lower 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.
What a library card is 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 $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $28K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 400 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Waterford ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Littleton | Littleton Public Library fine-free | 5.3 | 39 | A |
| St. Johnsbury | St. Johnsbury Athenaeum fine-free | 5.1 | 39 | A− |
| Barnet | Barnet Public fine-free | 3.9 | 21 | C+ |
| Waterford | Davies Memorial fine-free | 1.0 | 70 | D |
| Concord | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Davies Memorial counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Waterford
Does Waterford have a public library?
Yes. Davies Memorial, 111 Lower Waterford Rd., serves Waterford’s 1,463 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Davies 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 Waterford’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.0 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?
D Waterford is ahead of 8% 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.