George Taylor House · Photo: Allreet · CC BY-SA 3.0Catasauqua’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Public Library of Catasauqua serves 11,178 people in and around Catasauqua. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,246 visits.
What Catasauqua’s library is like
Public Library of Catasauqua is used less than most libraries its size
Public Library of Catasauqua records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 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 ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
59% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 25%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 244 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 95 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Public Library of Catasauqua 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; Public Library of Catasauqua serves 11,178 people in and around Catasauqua, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Catasauqua’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Catasauqua is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #773 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Catasauqua is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Catasauqua’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Public Library of Catasauqua spends $13 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$106K) 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Catasauqua
3.6 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.1%
5.1% of Catasauqua’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 Catasauqua’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Public Library of Catasauqua serves 11,178 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Public Library of Catasauqua system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,090 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Public Library of Catasauqua, Third & Bridge Sts, Catasauqua.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Public Library of Catasauqua branch.
New in Catasauqua? 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 $1.64 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Catasauqua cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $141K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $231K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $141K 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 1,295 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehall Township | Whitehall Township Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 58 | D |
| Catasauqua | Public Library of Catasauqua fine-free | — | 28 | C− |
| Hanover Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Fullerton | 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.
- System-wide. Public Library of Catasauqua serves 11,178 people in and around Catasauqua, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Catasauqua.
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 Catasauqua
Does Catasauqua have a public library?
Yes. Public Library of Catasauqua, Third & Bridge Sts, serves 11,178 people in and around Catasauqua (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Public Library of Catasauqua 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 Catasauqua’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Catasauqua’s civic life grade?
C− Catasauqua is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #773 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 Catasauqua.
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.