Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission on Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0Ambler’s library is a branch of Wissahickon Valley Public Library, which lends more per resident than 83% of systems its size
Ambler’s library is the Ambler Branch Library, a branch of Wissahickon Valley Public Library, which serves 39,216 people and lent 378K items last year.
The short version on Ambler’s library
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Wissahickon Valley Public Library system is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 1,022 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 286 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; Ambler’s library is a branch of Wissahickon Valley Public Library, so they cover the whole system (39,216 people), not just the Ambler branch.
What’s behind Ambler’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ambler is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #366 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Ambler is graded on two of the three inputs. Ambler’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Ambler
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.5%
7.5% of Ambler’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Pennsylvania 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 Ambler’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
378K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
61,933 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Wissahickon Valley Public Library serves 39,216 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 65 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wissahickon Valley Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 6 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
Ambler Branch Library, 209 Race Street, Ambler.
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 Wissahickon Valley Public Library branch.
New in Ambler? 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 $4.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ambler cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 22,032 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Dublin Township | Upper Dublin Public Library fine-free | 15.7 | 63 | A− |
| Fort Washington | Upper Dublin Public Library fine-free | 15.7 | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| Ambler | Ambler Branch Library fine-free | — | 54 | B− |
| Whitpain Township | Wissahickon Valley Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | B+ |
| Lower Gwynedd Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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.
- System-wide. Ambler Branch Library is one branch of Wissahickon Valley Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 39,216 people it serves.
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 Ambler
Does Ambler have a public library?
Yes: Ambler Branch Library, 209 Race Street, is a branch of Wissahickon Valley Public Library, which serves 39,216 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wissahickon Valley 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 Ambler’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 9.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ambler’s civic life grade?
B− Ambler is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #366 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. 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 Ambler.
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.