Baldwin’s library runs 10 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Baldwin Borough Public Library serves Baldwin’s 21,510 residents. Last year it lent 81K books, movies and e-books and logged 50K visits.
Baldwin’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Baldwin’s library lends 3.7 items per resident. Each of the six neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Pleasant Hills at 15. Libraries next door ↓
Pennsylvania pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 70% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 222 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 48 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 Baldwin’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Baldwin is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #848 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Baldwin Borough Public Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$101K) 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in Baldwin
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.8%
5.8% of Baldwin’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 Baldwin’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Baldwin Borough Public Library serves 21,510 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
81K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
31,034 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
222 programs a year
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 Baldwin last year.
Find it
Baldwin Borough Public Library, 5230 Wolfe Dr, Pittsburgh.
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 Baldwin? 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 $2.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Baldwin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $448K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $448K 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 6,502 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Baldwin ranks 7th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Hills | Pleasant Hills Public Library fine-free | 14.6 | 50 | C |
| Whitehall | Whitehall Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 50 | C− |
| Brentwood | Brentwood Library fine-free | 10.3 | 44 | B− |
| Bethel Park | Bethel Park Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 57 | C |
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| South Park Township | South Park Township Library | 9.0 | 48 | C |
| Baldwin | Baldwin Borough Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 53 | C− |
| West Mifflin | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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 Baldwin
Does Baldwin have a public library?
Yes. Baldwin Borough Public Library, 5230 Wolfe Dr, serves Baldwin’s 21,510 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Baldwin Borough 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 Baldwin’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Baldwin’s civic life grade?
C− Baldwin is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #848 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 Baldwin.
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.