Davis Island Lock and Dam Site · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAvalon’s library runs 110 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Avalon Public Library serves Avalon’s 4,762 residents. Last year it lent 61K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
Avalon’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Avalon Public Library ran 526 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 110 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Avalon is a town of borrowers
Avalon Public Library lends 9.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 68%. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
61% of the 526 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 166 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.
What’s behind Avalon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Avalon is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #159 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Library visits hold the grade up; Avalon’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Avalon
3.4 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Avalon’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 Avalon’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Avalon last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Avalon Public Library serves 4,762 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
61K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
13,798 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Avalon Public Library, 317 South Home Ave., Avalon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Avalon? 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 $6.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Avalon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $164K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $991K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $164K 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 1,682 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon | Avalon Public Library fine-free | 12.7 | 44 | B+ |
| Bellevue | Andrew Bayne Mem Library fine-free | 11.1 | 45 | B− |
| Ben Avon | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Kilbuck 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Avalon
Does Avalon have a public library?
Yes. Avalon Public Library, 317 South Home Ave., serves Avalon’s 4,762 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Avalon 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 Avalon’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 12.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Avalon’s civic life grade?
B+ Avalon is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #159 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 Avalon.
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.