Salem Township’s library logs 31 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hildreth Public Library serves 367 people in and around Salem Township. Last year it lent 9,179 books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Salem Township’s library
More library cards than residents
620 cards for 367 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Salem Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hildreth Public Library logs 31 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 20 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
13 times the programs of a typical library its size
Hildreth Public Library ran 281 programs last year, about 5 a week. That’s 766 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 5,994 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Hildreth Public Library serves 367 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 40 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 ↓
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 Salem Township’s civic life grade
Salem Township 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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hildreth Public Library serves 367 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
9,179 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,673 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
1,812 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hildreth Public Library, 248 Commerical Avenue, Hildreth.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Salem Township? 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 $2.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salem Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $82K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $190K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $82K 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 620 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | Hildreth Public Library fine-free | 25.0 | 40 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Macon Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Antelope Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lincoln Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 count everyone. Salem Township’s 11,471 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Salem Township
Does Salem Township have a public library?
Yes. Hildreth Public Library, 248 Commerical Avenue, serves 367 people in and around Salem Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hildreth 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 Salem Township’s library?
It logged 31.3 visits and lent 25.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Salem Township’s civic life grade?
Salem Township 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 Salem Township.
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.