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Hallstead, Pennsylvania pet foodPhoto: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0
Hallstead-Great Bend Branch Library · part of Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library

Hallstead’s library is a branch of Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library, which lends less per resident than 68% of systems its size

Hallstead’s library is the Hallstead-Great Bend Branch Library, a branch of Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library, which serves 38,434 people and lent 104K items last year.

135 Franklin Ave., Hallstead 18822 · about 35 hours a week
B+Civic lifeAhead of 69% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (570) 879-2227 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
104K
2.7 per resident
Visits a year
53K
1.4 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
419
about 8 a week · 6,328 attended
Cardholders
16%
6,033 cards
Open
35 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Hallstead’s library, in brief

Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes

50% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 24%. What your card is worth ↓

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓

Most programs are for young children

79% of the 419 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓

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; Hallstead’s library is a branch of Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library, so they cover the whole system (38,434 people), not just the Hallstead branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Hallstead’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hallstead is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. Hallstead is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Hallstead’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Hallstead’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureB−Community nonprofits3.6 per 1,000 residents · PA towns 3.7 · U.S. 3.7A−Volunteering9.9% of adults 25–44 · PA towns 7.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 69%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $38K–$64K (5,212)Ahead of 67%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Hallstead is small (1,167 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

4 community nonprofits are registered in Hallstead

3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation21.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans21.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services00.33 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.58 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

9.9%

9.9% of Hallstead’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 Hallstead’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 81%
Borrowing per resident 2.4 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 68%
Digital borrowing 0.3 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 86%
Kids’ borrowing 1 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 68%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 79%
Programs offered 10.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Lower than 64%
Cardholders 16% of residents · typical 39%Bottom 10%
Spending $26 per resident · typical $40Lower than 71%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library serves 38,434 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 14 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library system. The library’s own count.

53K
visits
1.4 per resident
104K
loans, print + digital
2.7 per resident
419
programs & events
6,328 attended
6,033
library cards
16% of people served
Every open hour14items borrowed
Every week122people at a program
Every day27Wi-Fi sessions
19 staff (full-time equivalent)17 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

104K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

104Kloans
Books & media (adults) 51%Kids’ books & media 37%E-books, audio & streaming 12%
From your couch

12,519 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 6 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Hallstead →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5251
Ages 6–1181
Teens36
Adults26
All ages25
Little ones
4.8

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

39K
kids’ books & media borrowed
6,328
people at programs
419
programs
The building

Find it

Hallstead-Great Bend Branch Library, 135 Franklin Ave., Hallstead.

Directions(570) 879-2227
35
hours open a week
1,800
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library branch.

New in Hallstead? 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 $1.64 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hallstead 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
$26 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $997K.

Local taxes 24%State 26%Gifts & other 50%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $997K 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 6,033 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Hallstead-Great Bend Branch Library is one branch of Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 38,434 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 Hallstead

Does Hallstead have a public library?

Yes: Hallstead-Great Bend Branch Library, 135 Franklin Ave., is a branch of Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library, which serves 38,434 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free 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 Hallstead’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Hallstead’s civic life grade?

B+ Hallstead is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Hallstead.

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.