Towanda’s library lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Towanda District Library serves 1,939 people in and around Towanda. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 7,363 visits.
The short version on Towanda’s library
A small-town library
Towanda District Library serves 1,939 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 34 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 ↓
Towanda District Library serves more than Towanda
The library’s service area covers 1,939 people in and around Towanda, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 Towanda’s civic life grade
Towanda 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
18K 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 Towanda’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Towanda District Library serves 1,939 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 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.
Find it
Towanda District Library, 301 South Taylor Street, Towanda.
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 $1.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Towanda cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $200K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $354K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $200K 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 427 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois 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 Towanda
Does Towanda have a public library?
Yes. Towanda District Library, 301 South Taylor Street, serves 1,939 people in and around Towanda (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Towanda District Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Towanda’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 9.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Towanda’s civic life grade?
Towanda 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 Towanda.
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.