Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Hagerstown’s library runs 117 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people in and around Hagerstown. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,540 visits.
The short version on Hagerstown’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library ran 375 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 117 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 7,363 attended. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 67%. People come in, pick up their books and go, or skip the trip: 32% of loans are digital. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 32% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 375 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people in and around Hagerstown, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hagerstown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hagerstown is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Hagerstown is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hagerstown’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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Hagerstown
5.8 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Hagerstown’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.1% in the typical Indiana 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 Hagerstown’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
16,345 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library, 10 West College Street, Hagerstown.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library branch.
New in Hagerstown? 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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hagerstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $357K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $813K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $357K 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 1,117 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people in and around Hagerstown, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hagerstown.
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 Hagerstown
Does Hagerstown have a public library?
Yes. Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library, 10 West College Street, serves 3,207 people in and around Hagerstown (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library 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 Hagerstown’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 15.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hagerstown’s civic life grade?
A Hagerstown is ahead of 87% 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 Hagerstown.
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.