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Berger Lake Galeton PA 16922Photo: Brian Denlinger · Public domain
Galeton Public Library

Galeton’s library runs 21 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size

Galeton Public Library serves 1,716 people in and around Galeton. Last year it lent 7,896 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,487 visits.

5 Park Lane, Galeton 16922 · about 34 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
7,896
4.6 per resident
Visits a year
4,487
2.6 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
36
about 1 a week · 465 attended
Cardholders
30%
513 cards
Open
34 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Galeton Public Library

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

Civic life grade

What’s behind Galeton’s civic life grade

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

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Galeton’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 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.6 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 64%
Borrowing per resident 4.1 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 52%
Digital borrowing 0.5 e-items · typical 1Lower than 64%
Kids’ borrowing 1.2 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 53%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 75%
Programs offered 21 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 77%
Cardholders 30% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 77%
Spending $33 per resident · typical $54Lower than 77%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Galeton Public Library serves 1,716 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Galeton Public Library system. The library’s own count.

4,487
visits
2.6 per resident
7,896
loans, print + digital
4.6 per resident
36
programs & events
465 attended
513
library cards
30% of people served
Every open hour4items borrowed
Every week9people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

7,896 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

7,896loans
Books & media (adults) 62%Kids’ books & media 27%E-books, audio & streaming 12%
From your couch

911 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

36 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Galeton →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–54
Ages 6–116
Teens5
Adults16
All ages5
Little ones
0.1

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

2,100
kids’ books & media borrowed
465
people at programs
36
programs
The building

Find it

Galeton Public Library, 5 Park Lane, Galeton.

34
hours open a week
3,140
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Galeton Public Library branch.

New in Galeton? 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 $2.25 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Galeton cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$33 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $57K.

Local taxes 23%State 15%Gifts & other 62%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $128K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $57K 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 513 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
GaletonGaleton Public Library fine-free—34— under 1,000 residents
Pike TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
West Branch TownshipNone 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.

  • System-wide. Galeton Public Library serves 1,716 people in and around Galeton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Galeton.

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 Galeton

Does Galeton have a public library?

Yes. Galeton Public Library, 5 Park Lane, serves 1,716 people in and around Galeton (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Galeton 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 Galeton’s library?

It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Galeton’s civic life grade?

Galeton 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 Galeton.

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.