Centre Hall’s library is a branch of Centre County Library and Historical Museum, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size
Centre Hall’s library is the Centre Hall Area Branch Library, a branch of Centre County Library and Historical Museum, which serves 63,547 people and lent 206K items last year.
Centre Hall’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Centre County Library and Historical Museum system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 782 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
28% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 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; Centre Hall’s library is a branch of Centre County Library and Historical Museum, so they cover the whole system (63,547 people), not just the Centre Hall branch.
What’s behind Centre Hall’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Centre Hall is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. Centre Hall is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Centre Hall’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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Centre Hall
6.7 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.
10.8%
10.8% of Centre Hall’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 Centre Hall’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Centre County Library and Historical Museum serves 63,547 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Centre County Library and Historical Museum system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
206K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
34,325 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Centre Hall Area Branch Library, 109 W. Beryl Street, Centre Hall.
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 Centre County Library and Historical Museum branch.
New in Centre Hall? 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 $3.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Centre Hall cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $965K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $965K 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 9,668 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Centre Hall Area Branch Library is one branch of Centre County Library and Historical Museum, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 63,547 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 Centre Hall
Does Centre Hall have a public library?
Yes: Centre Hall Area Branch Library, 109 W. Beryl Street, is a branch of Centre County Library and Historical Museum, which serves 63,547 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Centre County Library and Historical Museum 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 Centre Hall’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Centre Hall’s civic life grade?
A Centre Hall is ahead of 94% 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 Centre Hall.
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.