Gap’s library is a branch of Intercourse Library, which lends more per resident than 88% of systems its size
Gap’s library is the Salisbury Township Branch Library, a branch of Intercourse Library, which serves 22,818 people and lent 213K items last year.
The short version on Gap’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 74% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 81%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Intercourse Library system offered 80 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 80 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
32% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 24%. What your card is worth ↓
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; Gap’s library is a branch of Intercourse Library, so they cover the whole system (22,818 people), not just the Gap branch.
What’s behind Gap’s civic life grade
Gap isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 1 kids’ program 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Intercourse Library serves 22,818 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 56 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Intercourse Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
213K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,742 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Salisbury Township Branch Library, 835 Houston Run Drive, Suite 220, Gap.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Intercourse Library branch.
New in Gap? 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 $9.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gap cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $293K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $293K 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 4,024 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Salisbury Township Branch Library is one branch of Intercourse Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,818 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 Gap
Does Gap have a public library?
Yes: Salisbury Township Branch Library, 835 Houston Run Drive, Suite 220, is a branch of Intercourse Library, which serves 22,818 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Intercourse 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 Gap’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Gap’s civic life grade?
Gap 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 Gap.
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.