Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Folsom

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
Ridley Township Public Library

Folsom’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size

Ridley Township Public Library serves 31,053 people in and around Folsom. Last year it lent 174K books, movies and e-books and logged 80K visits.

100 E Macdade Blvd, Folsom 19033 · about 48 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
174K
5.6 per resident
Visits a year
80K
2.6 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
678
about 13 a week · 19K attended
Cardholders
20%
6,333 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week

What stands out about Folsom’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Folsom’s civic life grade

Folsom isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Folsom’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 2.6 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 51%
Borrowing per resident 4.6 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 59%
Digital borrowing 1 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 57%
Kids’ borrowing 2.6 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 68%
Program attendance 0.6 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 81%
Programs offered 21.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 73%
Cardholders 20% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 85%
Spending $23 per resident · typical $40Lower than 76%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Ridley Township Public Library serves 31,053 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 70 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

80K
visits
2.6 per resident
174K
loans, print + digital
5.6 per resident
678
programs & events
19K attended
6,333
library cards
20% of people served
Every open hour70items borrowed
Every week363people at a program
Every week1,542visits
6 staff (full-time equivalent)14 public computers50K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

174K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

174Kloans
Books & media (adults) 37%Kids’ books & media 46%E-books, audio & streaming 18%
How hard the shelves work
2.9×

Each of the 50K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.

From your couch

30,642 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 7 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Folsom →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5321
Ages 6–1159
Teens16
Adults269
All ages13
Little ones
6.2

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

79K
kids’ books & media borrowed
19K
people at programs
678
programs
The building

Find it

Ridley Township Public Library, 100 E Macdade Blvd, Folsom.

48
hours open a week
7,200
square feet
50K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Folsom? 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 $3.77 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Folsom 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
$23 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $715K.

Local taxes 68%State 18%Gifts & other 15%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $715K 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 6,333 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Folsom ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
SwarthmoreSwarthmore Public Library15.649A
Springfield TownshipSpringfield Township Library fine-free7.156B
FolsomRidley Township Public Library fine-free5.648— graded as part of its town
Ridley TownshipRidley Township Public Library fine-free5.648C−
Ridley ParkRidley Park Public Library fine-free4.144C−
Prospect ParkProspect Park Free Library2.433C−
WoodlynNone of its own——— graded as part of its town
RutledgeNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents

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.

  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

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 Folsom

Does Folsom have a public library?

Yes. Ridley Township Public Library, 100 E Macdade Blvd, serves 31,053 people in and around Folsom (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Ridley Township 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 Folsom’s library?

It logged 2.6 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Folsom’s civic life grade?

Folsom isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Folsom.

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.