Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCherry Township’s library is a branch of Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit, which lends less per resident than 99% of systems its size
Cherry Township’s library is the North Trails Public Library, a branch of Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit, which serves 74,195 people and lent 12K items last year.
The short version on Cherry Township’s library
The Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit system is used less than most libraries its size
The Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit system records 0 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit system offered 125 programs last year, 1.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Pennsylvania pays a big share
47% of the budget comes from the state, and 48% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 125 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit system spends $7 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Cherry Township’s library is a branch of Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit, so they cover the whole system (74,195 people), not just the Cherry Township branch.
What’s behind Cherry Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cherry Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. Cherry Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Cherry Township
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Cherry Township’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 Cherry Township’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.
Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit serves 74,195 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,562 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
North Trails Public Library, 218 North Mckean Street, West Sunbury.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit branch.
New in Cherry Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cherry Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $519K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $191K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $519K 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 1,612 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Township | North Trails Public Library | — | 28 | B+ |
| Slippery Rock Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Clay Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Marion Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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. North Trails Public Library is one branch of Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 74,195 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 Cherry Township
Does Cherry Township have a public library?
Yes: North Trails Public Library, 218 North Mckean Street, is a branch of Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit, which serves 74,195 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Butler County Federated Library System - Admin Unit 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 Cherry Township’s library?
It logged 0.0 visits and lent 0.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Cherry Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Cherry Township is ahead of 72% 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 Cherry Township.
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.