Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainChester’s library lends 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
J. Lewis Crozer Library serves Chester’s 32,605 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 46K visits.
Chester’s library, in brief
J. Lewis Crozer Library is used less than most libraries its size
J. Lewis Crozer Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people J. Lewis Crozer Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Pennsylvania pays a big share
24% of the budget comes from the state, and 66% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
J. Lewis Crozer Library holds 43,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Chester’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chester is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #962 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Chester’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
J. Lewis Crozer Library spends $19 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$52K) 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 →
117 community nonprofits are registered in Chester
3.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (51 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.2%
2.2% of Chester’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 Chester’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.
J. Lewis Crozer Library serves 32,605 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
2,692 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Chester last year.
Find it
J Lewis Crozer Library, 620 Engle St., Chester.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chester? 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 Chester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $629K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $331K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $629K 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 3,924 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Chester ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nether Providence Township | Helen Kate Furness Free Library | 8.0 | 48 | B |
| Ridley Township | Ridley Township Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 48 | C− |
| Chester | J Lewis Crozer Library | 0.4 | 45 | D |
| Chester Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Upland | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Woodlyn | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Trainer | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Eddystone | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Logan Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Parkside | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Brookhaven | None of its own | — | — | 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 Chester
Does Chester have a public library?
Yes. J. Lewis Crozer Library, 620 Engle St., serves Chester’s 32,605 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is J. Lewis Crozer Library 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 Chester’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Chester’s civic life grade?
D Chester is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #962 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 Chester.
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.