Miners Union Hall · Photo: Geologyguy · Public domainPhilipsburg’s library logs 7.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Philipsburg Public Library serves 2,000 people in and around Philipsburg. Last year it lent 8,001 books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
What Philipsburg’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 81% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 25%. The building also logs about 4 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
34% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. What your card is worth ↓
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans, more per resident than at 73% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 51%. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 261 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 96 were for children. 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; Philipsburg Public Library serves 2,000 people in and around Philipsburg, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Philipsburg’s civic life grade
Philipsburg 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Philipsburg Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Philipsburg Public Library serves 2,000 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
49% of borrowing is digital
8,001 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,940 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 2 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.
Find it
Philipsburg Public Library, 106 W Broadway, Philipsburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Philipsburg Public Library branch.
New in Philipsburg? 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 $1.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Philipsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $86K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $147K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $86K 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 924 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Philipsburg Public Library serves 2,000 people in and around Philipsburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Philipsburg.
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 Philipsburg
Does Philipsburg have a public library?
Yes. Philipsburg Public Library, 106 W Broadway, serves 2,000 people in and around Philipsburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Philipsburg Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Philipsburg’s library?
It logged 7.4 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Philipsburg’s civic life grade?
Philipsburg 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 Philipsburg.
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.