Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Chippewa Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
McKinley School 3, Chippewa TownshipPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
Chippewa Branch Library · part of Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit

Chippewa Township’s library is a branch of Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size

Chippewa Township’s library is the Chippewa Branch Library, a branch of Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit, which serves 65,037 people and lent 71K items last year.

2811 Darlington Road, Beaver Falls 15010 · about 30 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 18% of U.S. towns · #844 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
71K
1.1 per resident
Visits a year
16K
0.2 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
322
about 6 a week · 7,111 attended
Cardholders
6%
3,962 cards
Open
30 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Chippewa Township’s library

The Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit system is used less than most libraries its size

The Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit system records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓

Pennsylvania pays a big share

43% of the budget comes from the state, and 55% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Few programs for a library this size

The Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit system offered 322 programs last year, 5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓

Runs on less money than most

The Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit system spends $12 per resident, less than 93% 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; Chippewa Township’s library is a branch of Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit, so they cover the whole system (65,037 people), not just the Chippewa Township branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Chippewa Township’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chippewa Township is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #844 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Chippewa Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Chippewa Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Chippewa Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 18%
FewerMore
Pennsylvania towns we grade (1,029)Ahead of 18%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $71K–$119K (7,784)Ahead of 18%

Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit spends $12 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($71K–$119K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Chippewa Township is small (8,107 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

26 community nonprofits are registered in Chippewa Township

3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation80.97 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans50.62 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services50.62 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education30.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

5.2%

5.2% of Chippewa 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 Chippewa Township’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.2 visits · typical 2.6Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.9 print items · typical 3.7Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1.2Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.4 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 89%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 89%
Programs offered 5 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Bottom 10%
Cardholders 6% of residents · typical 39%Bottom 10%
Spending $12 per resident · typical $40Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit serves 65,037 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit system. The library’s own count.

16K
visits
0.2 per resident
71K
loans, print + digital
1.1 per resident
322
programs & events
7,111 attended
3,962
library cards
6% of people served
Every open hour23items borrowed
Every week137people at a program
Every week306visits
10 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

71K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

71Kloans
Books & media (adults) 47%Kids’ books & media 35%E-books, audio & streaming 19%
From your couch

13,242 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 3 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Chippewa Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5138
Ages 6–1117
Teens21
Adults116
All ages30
Little ones
2.7

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

25K
kids’ books & media borrowed
7,111
people at programs
322
programs
The building

Find it

Chippewa Branch Library, 2811 Darlington Road, Beaver Falls.

30
hours open a week
2,000
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit branch.

New in Chippewa Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.45 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chippewa Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$348
a year at retail prices · $29 a month

Who pays for it
$12 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $779K.

Local taxes 55%State 43%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $779K 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 3,962 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Chippewa TownshipChippewa Branch Library—30C−
Big BeaverNone of its own——C−
Patterson TownshipNone of its own——C−
West MayfieldNone of its own——D
White TownshipNone of its own——C−
South Beaver TownshipNone of its own——C
Brighton TownshipNone of its own——B+

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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Chippewa Branch Library is one branch of Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 65,037 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 Chippewa Township

Does Chippewa Township have a public library?

Yes: Chippewa Branch Library, 2811 Darlington Road, is a branch of Beaver County Library System - Admin Unit, which serves 65,037 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Beaver County 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 Chippewa Township’s library?

It logged 0.2 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Chippewa Township’s civic life grade?

C− Chippewa Township is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #844 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 Chippewa Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.