Bellevue’s library lends 8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Andrew Bayne Memorial Library serves Bellevue’s 8,311 residents. Last year it lent 92K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
Bellevue’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 361 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 14,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 28% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Bellevue last year. 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 Bellevue’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bellevue is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #351 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bellevue’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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Bellevue
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Bellevue’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 Bellevue’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
92K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average.
25,813 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Andrew Bayne Memorial Library serves 8,311 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 5 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 Bellevue last year.
Find it
Andrew Bayne Mem Library, 34 North Balph Ave, Bellevue.
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 Bellevue? 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 $6.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bellevue cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $234K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $234K 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 3,492 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bellevue ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. 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− |
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| Ross Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Stowe Township | 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 Bellevue
Does Bellevue have a public library?
Yes. Andrew Bayne Memorial Library, 34 North Balph Ave, serves Bellevue’s 8,311 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Andrew Bayne Memorial 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 Bellevue’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 11.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bellevue’s civic life grade?
B− Bellevue is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life, #351 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 Bellevue.
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.