Photo: Smallbones · Public domainBloomfield’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Bloomfield Public Library serves 3,748 people in and around Bloomfield. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,814 visits.
The short version on Bloomfield’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
72% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 4%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 59% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 70 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 18 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Bloomfield Public Library spends $14 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; Bloomfield Public Library serves 3,748 people in and around Bloomfield, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Bloomfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bloomfield is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. Bloomfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bloomfield’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Bloomfield
6.5 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Bloomfield’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 Bloomfield’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bloomfield Public Library serves 3,748 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bloomfield Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,248 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Bloomfield Public Library, Borough Bldg, 23 E Mcclure St., New Bloomfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bloomfield Public Library branch.
New in Bloomfield? 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 $4.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bloomfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $54K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $252K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $54K 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 1,559 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bloomfield Public Library serves 3,748 people in and around Bloomfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bloomfield.
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 Bloomfield
Does Bloomfield have a public library?
Yes. Bloomfield Public Library, Borough Bldg, 23 E Mcclure St., serves 3,748 people in and around Bloomfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bloomfield 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 Bloomfield’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bloomfield’s civic life grade?
A− Bloomfield is ahead of 81% 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 Bloomfield.
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.