Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Apollo’s library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Apollo Memorial Library serves 2,867 people in and around Apollo. Last year it lent 7,906 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,124 visits.
Apollo’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
66% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 19%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 153 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 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; Apollo Memorial Library serves 2,867 people in and around Apollo, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Apollo’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Apollo is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. Apollo is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Apollo
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
7.0%
7.0% of Apollo’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 Apollo’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Apollo Memorial Library serves 2,867 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Apollo Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,906 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,566 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
Apollo Memorial Library, 219 North Pennsylvania Ave, Apollo.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Apollo Memorial Library branch.
New in Apollo? 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 $1.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Apollo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $124K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $137K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $124K 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 1,511 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo | Apollo Memorial Library | — | 38 | C |
| Orchard Hills | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Kiskiminetas Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| North Apollo | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Oklahoma | 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.
- System-wide. Apollo Memorial Library serves 2,867 people in and around Apollo, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Apollo.
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 Apollo
Does Apollo have a public library?
Yes. Apollo Memorial Library, 219 North Pennsylvania Ave, serves 2,867 people in and around Apollo (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Apollo Memorial 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 Apollo’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Apollo’s civic life grade?
C Apollo is ahead of 34% 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 Apollo.
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.