Derry’s library is a branch of Adams Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 75% of systems its size
Derry’s library is the Caldwell Memorial Library, a branch of Adams Memorial Library, which serves 48,983 people and lent 112K items last year.
The short version on Derry’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 10%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Adams Memorial Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 353 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Derry branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Derry’s library is a branch of Adams Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (48,983 people), not just the Derry branch.
What’s behind Derry’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Derry is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #218 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Derry 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Derry
3.9 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.
8.4%
8.4% of Derry’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 Derry’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.
Adams Memorial Library serves 48,983 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Adams Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
112K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
21,385 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Caldwell Memorial Library, 982 North Chestnut Extension, Derry.
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 Adams Memorial Library branch.
New in Derry? 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 $2.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Derry cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $710K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $710K 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 5,532 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Caldwell Memorial Library is one branch of Adams Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 48,983 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 Derry
Does Derry have a public library?
Yes: Caldwell Memorial Library, 982 North Chestnut Extension, is a branch of Adams Memorial Library, which serves 48,983 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Adams Memorial 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 Derry’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Derry’s civic life grade?
B Derry is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #218 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 Derry.
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.