Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0Bethel Township’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Matthews Public Library serves 17,480 people in and around Bethel Township. Last year it lent 33K books, movies and e-books and logged 20K visits.
The short version on Bethel Township’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
76% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 9%. What your card is worth ↓
Matthews Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Matthews Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 158 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Matthews Public Library offered 158 programs last year, 9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Matthews Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Matthews Public Library serves 17,480 people in and around Bethel Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Bethel Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bethel Township is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #735 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Bethel Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Bethel Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Matthews Public Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($67K–$112K) 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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Bethel Township
4.1 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Bethel 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 Bethel Township’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.
Matthews Public Library serves 17,480 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Matthews Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
33K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,562 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Matthews Public Library, 102 West Main Street, Fredericksburg.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Matthews Public Library branch.
New in Bethel Township? 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 $2.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethel Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $221K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $512K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $221K 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 8,876 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Township | Matthews Public Library | — | 59 | C− |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| North Lebanon Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Swatara Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Jackson 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.
- System-wide. Matthews Public Library serves 17,480 people in and around Bethel Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bethel Township.
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 Bethel Township
Does Bethel Township have a public library?
Yes. Matthews Public Library, 102 West Main Street, serves 17,480 people in and around Bethel Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Matthews Public 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 Bethel Township’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bethel Township’s civic life grade?
C− Bethel Township is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #735 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 Bethel 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.