Bryn Mawr’s library logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Lower Merion Library System serves 63,633 people in and around Bryn Mawr. Last year it lent 1.2M books, movies and e-books and logged 557K visits.
Bryn Mawr’s library, in brief
Bryn Mawr uses its library more than almost any town its size
Lower Merion Library System logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 17% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
Lower Merion Library System is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 67 items go out. The building ↓
Lower Merion Library System serves more than Bryn Mawr
The library’s service area covers 63,633 people in and around Bryn Mawr, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Bryn Mawr’s civic life grade
Bryn Mawr isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 67 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lower Merion Library System serves 63,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 469K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
198,974 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 17 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.
Find it
Ludington Public Library, 5 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bryn Mawr? 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 $2.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bryn Mawr cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.9M 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 39,862 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bryn Mawr borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryn Mawr | Ludington Public Library | 18.2 | 66 | — graded as part of its town |
| Lower Merion Township | Ludington Public Library | 18.2 | 66 | A |
| Haverford Township | Haverford Township Free Library | 5.5 | 56 | B− |
| Rosemont | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Bryn Mawr
Does Bryn Mawr have a public library?
Yes. Lower Merion Library System, 5 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue, serves 63,633 people in and around Bryn Mawr (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lower Merion 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 Bryn Mawr’s library?
It logged 8.8 visits and lent 18.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bryn Mawr’s civic life grade?
Bryn Mawr isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bryn Mawr.
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.