Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Freeland’s library is a branch of Hazleton Area Public Library, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Freeland’s library is the Freeland Branch Library, a branch of Hazleton Area Public Library, which serves 78,760 people and lent 84K items last year.
Freeland’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Hazleton Area Public 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
85% of the 377 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Hazleton Area Public Library system offered 377 programs last year, 4.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Hazleton Area Public Library system lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 91% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Freeland’s library is a branch of Hazleton Area Public Library, so they cover the whole system (78,760 people), not just the Freeland branch.
What’s behind Freeland’s civic life grade
Freeland isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Hazleton Area Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 Freeland
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hazleton Area Public Library serves 78,760 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hazleton Area Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
84K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,732 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
Freeland Branch Library, 515 Front St., Freeland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hazleton Area Public Library branch.
New in Freeland? 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 $1.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Freeland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 16,355 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Freeland Branch Library is one branch of Hazleton Area Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 78,760 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 Freeland
Does Freeland have a public library?
Yes: Freeland Branch Library, 515 Front St., is a branch of Hazleton Area Public Library, which serves 78,760 people. The branch is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hazleton Area Public 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 Freeland’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Freeland’s civic life grade?
Freeland isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Hazleton Area Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Freeland.
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.