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Coudersport and Port Allegany Railroad StationCoudersport and Port Allegany Railroad Station · Photo: Brian M. Powell (user Bitmapped on en.wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Coudersport Public Library

Coudersport’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size

Coudersport Public Library serves 23,114 people in and around Coudersport. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.

502 Park Ave, Coudersport 16915 · about 57 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAhead of 98% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (814) 274-9382 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
17K
0.7 per resident
Visits a year
15K
0.7 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
120
about 2 a week · 1,624 attended
Cardholders
19%
4,388 cards
Open
57 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Coudersport’s library

Coudersport Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Coudersport Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Pennsylvania pays a big share

48% of the budget comes from the state, and 34% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Coudersport Public Library offered 120 programs last year, 5.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓

Programs lean toward adults

54% of the 120 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 45 were for children. Kids & programs ↓

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; Coudersport Public Library serves 23,114 people in and around Coudersport, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Coudersport’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Coudersport is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Coudersport is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Coudersport near the top nationally; Coudersport’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Coudersport’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureACommunity nonprofits9.7 per 1,000 residents · PA towns 3.7 · U.S. 3.7AVolunteering12.5% of adults 25–44 · PA towns 7.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 98%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$65K (5,530)Ahead of 98%

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. Coudersport is small (2,281 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

21 community nonprofits are registered in Coudersport

9.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.55 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation41.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans52.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services52.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.55 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.97 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other31.33 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

12.5%

12.5% of Coudersport’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 Coudersport’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.7 visits · typical 3.1Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.5 print items · typical 3.9Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 89%
Kids’ borrowing 0.2 kids’ items · typical 1.8Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.4Bottom 10%
Programs offered 5.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Bottom 10%
Cardholders 19% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 88%
Spending $11 per resident · typical $43Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Coudersport Public Library serves 23,114 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Coudersport Public Library system. The library’s own count.

15K
visits
0.7 per resident
17K
loans, print + digital
0.7 per resident
120
programs & events
1,624 attended
4,388
library cards
19% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week31people at a program
Every week297visits
4 staff (full-time equivalent)3 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

17Kloans
Books & media (adults) 44%Kids’ books & media 26%E-books, audio & streaming 30%
From your couch

5,113 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

120 programs a year

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

Schools in Coudersport →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–532
Ages 6–1113
Teens7
Adults65
All ages3
Little ones
0.6

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

4,384
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,624
people at programs
120
programs
The building

Find it

Coudersport Public Library, 502 Park Ave, Coudersport.

Directions(814) 274-9382
57
hours open a week
3,856
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Coudersport Public Library branch.

New in Coudersport? 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 $1.07 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$11 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $257K.

Local taxes 34%State 48%Gifts & other 18%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $274K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $257K 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 4,388 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Coudersport Public Library serves 23,114 people in and around Coudersport, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Coudersport.

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 Coudersport

Does Coudersport have a public library?

Yes. Coudersport Public Library, 502 Park Ave, serves 23,114 people in and around Coudersport (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Coudersport Public Library 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 Coudersport’s library?

It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Coudersport’s civic life grade?

A+ Coudersport is ahead of 98% 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 Coudersport.

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.