Photo: Andrew Bossi · CC BY-SA 2.5Earl Township’s library lends 6.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Eastern Lancaster County Library serves 25,552 people in and around Earl Township. Last year it lent 174K books, movies and e-books and logged 57K visits.
Earl Township’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
55% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 22%. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Eastern Lancaster County Library spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 74% of similar-size libraries. 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; Eastern Lancaster County Library serves 25,552 people in and around Earl Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Earl Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Earl Township is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #783 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Earl Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Earl Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Eastern Lancaster County Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($63K–$105K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Earl Township
3.7 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.9%
4.9% of Earl 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 Earl Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Eastern Lancaster County Library serves 25,552 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 68 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eastern Lancaster County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
174K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,449 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Eastern Lancaster County Library, 11 Chestnut Dr, New Holland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Eastern Lancaster County Library branch.
New in Earl Township? 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 $7.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Earl Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $332K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $332K 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 4,919 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Township | Eastern Lancaster County Library | — | 49 | C− |
| Leacock Township | Pequea Valley Public Library | — | 44 | D |
| Ephrata Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| East Earl Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Hinkletown | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Upper Leacock Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Brecknock Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| West Earl Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Blue Ball | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| East Cocalico Township | 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.
- System-wide. Eastern Lancaster County Library serves 25,552 people in and around Earl Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Earl Township.
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 Earl Township
Does Earl Township have a public library?
Yes. Eastern Lancaster County Library, 11 Chestnut Dr, serves 25,552 people in and around Earl Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eastern Lancaster County 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 Earl Township’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Earl Township’s civic life grade?
C− Earl Township is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #783 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 Earl 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.