Photo: Dronesquad2 · CC BY-SA 4.0Hamburg’s library runs 7.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Hamburg Public Library serves 16,299 people in and around Hamburg. Last year it lent 78K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
Hamburg’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Hamburg Public Library offered 118 programs last year, 7.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Hamburg Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. Today’s library there has 4,700 square feet. The building ↓
Pennsylvania pays a big share
31% of the budget comes from the state, and 45% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Hamburg Public Library spends $12 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Hamburg Public Library serves 16,299 people in and around Hamburg, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hamburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hamburg is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #254 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Hamburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Hamburg
3.9 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Hamburg’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 Hamburg’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1988
Hamburg Public Library, 35 North 3rd St., Hamburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hamburg Public Library branch.
New in Hamburg? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hamburg Public Library
Hamburg Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 3, 1988. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Late Victorian and Romanesque and Colonial Revival and Federal.
The Hamburg Public Library is an historic library building which is located in Hamburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
More about the building →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.
Hamburg Public Library serves 16,299 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hamburg Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
78K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,130 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $6.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hamburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $189K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $189K 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 3,293 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamburg | Hamburg Public Library fine-free | — | 43 | B |
| Tilden Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| West Hamburg | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Windsor Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hamburg Public Library serves 16,299 people in and around Hamburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hamburg.
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 Hamburg
Does Hamburg have a public library?
Yes. Hamburg Public Library, 35 North 3rd St., serves 16,299 people in and around Hamburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamburg 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 Hamburg’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hamburg’s civic life grade?
B Hamburg is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #254 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. 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 Hamburg.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.