Bear Creek Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is North Branch Library in Wilkes-Barre, 7.3 miles away
Bear Creek Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is North Branch Library in Wilkes-Barre, 7.3 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
D−Civic lifeFewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns.Getting a library card from Bear Creek Township
Bear Creek Township borrows from the libraries next door
Bear Creek Township has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being North Branch Library in Wilkes-Barre (7.3 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Bear Creek Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Kidder Township, Penn Lake Park and Buck Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Fairview Township (Marian Sutherland Kirby Library) and Plains Township (Plains Township Branch Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Bear Creek Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bear Creek Township has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Bear Creek Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($66K–$110K) 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Bear Creek Township
0.6 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.1%
4.1% of Bear Creek Township’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 Bear Creek Township’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 7.3 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Bear Creek Township. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plains Township | Plains Township Branch Library | 1.0 | 20 | D− |
| Fairview Township | Marian Sutherland Kirby Library | — | 42 | B |
| Kidder Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Penn Lake Park | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Buck Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dennison Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Jenkins Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Thornhurst Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Laurel Run | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hanover Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 Bear Creek Township
Does Bear Creek Township have a public library?
No. The closest is North Branch Library in Wilkes-Barre, 7.3 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Bear Creek Township’s civic life grade?
D− Bear Creek Township has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Bear Creek 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.