Photo: The original uploader was Ronjamin at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5Brentwood’s library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Brentwood Library serves Brentwood’s 10,082 residents. Last year it lent 104K books, movies and e-books and logged 82K visits.
The short version on Brentwood’s library
People come to Brentwood Library a lot
Brentwood Library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Brentwood Library ran 584 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 58 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 584 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 208 were for children. 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 Brentwood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brentwood is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #409 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Library visits hold the grade up; Brentwood’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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Brentwood
2.6 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.1%
6.1% of Brentwood’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 Brentwood’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Brentwood Library serves 10,082 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
104K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 64K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
22,973 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Brentwood last year.
Find it
Brentwood Library, 3501 Brownsville Rd, Pittsburgh.
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 Brentwood? 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 $4.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brentwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $427K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $427K 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 5,490 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Brentwood ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehall | Whitehall Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 50 | C− |
| Brentwood | Brentwood Library fine-free | 10.3 | 44 | B− |
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| Baldwin | Baldwin Borough Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 53 | 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 Brentwood
Does Brentwood have a public library?
Yes. Brentwood Library, 3501 Brownsville Rd, serves Brentwood’s 10,082 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brentwood 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 Brentwood’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Brentwood’s civic life grade?
B− Brentwood is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on civic life, #409 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 Brentwood.
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.