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Biglerville, PA Keystone MarkerPhoto: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0
Harbaugh Thomas Library · part of Adams County Library System

Biglerville’s library is a branch of Adams County Library System, which lends more per resident than 50% of systems its size

Biglerville’s library is the Harbaugh Thomas Library, a branch of Adams County Library System, which serves 103,852 people and lent 452K items last year.

59 W York St., Biglerville 17307 · about 44 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 41% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (717) 677-6257 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
452K
4.3 per resident
Visits a year
196K
1.9 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
2,485
about 48 a week · 38K attended
Cardholders
32%
33,391 cards
Open
44 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Biglerville’s library, in brief

Twice the programs of a typical library its size

The Adams County Library System ran 2,485 programs last year, about 48 a week. That’s 24 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓

Pennsylvania pays a big share

30% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Biglerville’s library is a branch of Adams County Library System, so they cover the whole system (103,852 people), not just the Biglerville branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Biglerville’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Biglerville is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns. Biglerville is graded on two of the three inputs. Biglerville’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Biglerville’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureB+Community nonprofits4.9 per 1,000 residents · PA towns 3.7 · U.S. 3.7C−Volunteering5.6% of adults 25–44 · PA towns 7.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 41%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$66K (5,664)Ahead of 39%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$66K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Biglerville is small (1,240 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

5 community nonprofits are registered in Biglerville

4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.19 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans21.50 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.84 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.19 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.65 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.65 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

5.6%

5.6% of Biglerville’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 Biglerville’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 27 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Biglerville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51,033
Ages 6–11357
Teens261
Adults712
All ages122
Little ones
19.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

168K
kids’ books & media borrowed
38K
people at programs
2,485
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.9 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 58%
Borrowing per resident 3.1 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 50%
Digital borrowing 1.2 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 54%
Kids’ borrowing 1.6 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 51%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 79%
Programs offered 23.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Top 10%
Cardholders 32% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 69%
Spending $26 per resident · typical $36Lower than 67%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Adams County Library System serves 103,852 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Adams County Library System system. The library’s own count.

196K
visits
1.9 per resident
452K
loans, print + digital
4.3 per resident
2,485
programs & events
38K attended
33K
library cards
32% of people served
Every open hour34items borrowed
Every week726people at a program
Every day268Wi-Fi sessions
41 staff (full-time equivalent)35 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

452K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

452Kloans
Books & media (adults) 35%Kids’ books & media 37%E-books, audio & streaming 28%
From your couch

126,128 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Harbaugh Thomas Library, 59 W York St., Biglerville.

Directions(717) 677-6257
44
hours open a week
7,100
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Adams County Library System branch.

New in Biglerville? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.69 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Biglerville cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$26 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.7M.

Local taxes 50%State 30%Gifts & other 21%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.7M 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 33,391 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Harbaugh Thomas Library is one branch of Adams County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 103,852 people it serves.

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 Biglerville

Does Biglerville have a public library?

Yes: Harbaugh Thomas Library, 59 W York St., is a branch of Adams County Library System, which serves 103,852 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Adams County Library System 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 Biglerville’s library?

It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Biglerville’s civic life grade?

C+ Biglerville is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Biglerville.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.