Byers-Muma House · Photo: Smallbones · CC BY-SA 3.0East Donegal Township’s library lends 6.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Milanof-Schock Library serves 28,324 people in and around East Donegal Township. Last year it lent 203K books, movies and e-books and logged 69K visits.
East Donegal Township’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
65% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 22%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 83% 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; Milanof-Schock Library serves 28,324 people in and around East Donegal Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind East Donegal Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, East Donegal Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #887 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. East Donegal Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Milanof-Schock Library spends $15 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($82K–$136K) 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in East Donegal Township
2.4 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of East Donegal 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 East Donegal Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Milanof-Schock Library serves 28,324 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 87 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Milanof-Schock Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
203K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,938 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Milanof-Schock Library, 1184 Anderson Ferry Rd., Mount Joy.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Milanof-Schock Library branch.
New in East Donegal 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 $6.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Donegal Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $432K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $432K 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 6,607 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Donegal Township | Milanof-Schock Library | — | 45 | C− |
| Hellam Township | Kreutz Creek Valley Library Center | — | 29 | C− |
| Rapho Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Marietta | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Mount Joy | None of its own | — | — | D |
| West Hempfield Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| West Donegal Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Conoy Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Mount Joy Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Rheems | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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. Milanof-Schock Library serves 28,324 people in and around East Donegal Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just East Donegal 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 East Donegal Township
Does East Donegal Township have a public library?
Yes. Milanof-Schock Library, 1184 Anderson Ferry Rd., serves 28,324 people in and around East Donegal Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Milanof-Schock 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 East Donegal Township’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 7.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is East Donegal Township’s civic life grade?
C− East Donegal Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #887 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 East Donegal 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.