Photo: James Case · CC BY 2.0Philadelphia’s library runs 2.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Neshoba County Public Library serves 28,789 people in and around Philadelphia. Last year it lent 32K print books and media and logged 75K visits.
Philadelphia’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Neshoba County Public Library offered 71 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 71 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Neshoba County Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Neshoba County Public Library serves 28,789 people in and around Philadelphia, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Philadelphia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Philadelphia is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns, #70 of 85 in Mississippi. Philadelphia is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Philadelphia’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Neshoba County Public Library spends $8 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$63K) 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Philadelphia
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.0%
4.0% of Philadelphia’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Philadelphia’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Neshoba County Public Library serves 28,789 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Neshoba County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
32K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Neshoba County Public Library, 230 Beacon Street, Philadelphia.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Neshoba County Public Library branch.
New in Philadelphia? 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 $3.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Philadelphia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $232K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $857K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $232K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 7,922 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | Neshoba County Public Library | — | 40 | D |
| Pearl River | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Neshoba County Public Library serves 28,789 people in and around Philadelphia, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Philadelphia.
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 Philadelphia
Does Philadelphia have a public library?
Yes. Neshoba County Public Library, 230 Beacon Street, serves 28,789 people in and around Philadelphia (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Neshoba County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Philadelphia’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 1.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Philadelphia’s civic life grade?
D Philadelphia is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life, #70 of 85 in Mississippi. 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 Philadelphia.
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.