O'Connor, J.S., American Rich Cut Glassware Factory · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Hawley’s library logs 8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Hawley Public Library serves 6,156 people in and around Hawley. Last year it lent 38K books, movies and e-books and logged 49K visits.
The short version on Hawley’s library
Busy on a lean budget
Hawley Public Library spends $29 per resident, less than 72% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). It’s still busier than 75% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
45% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 36%. What your card is worth ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Hawley Public Library logs 8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.8 print items per resident. 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; Hawley Public Library serves 6,156 people in and around Hawley, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hawley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hawley is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Hawley is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hawley’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Hawley
6.7 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.4%
10.4% of Hawley’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 Hawley’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hawley Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hawley Public Library serves 6,156 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
38K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,548 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Hawley Public Library, 103 Main St., Hawley.
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 Hawley Public Library branch.
New in Hawley? 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 $3.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hawley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $603K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K 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 3,055 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawley | Hawley Public Library fine-free | — | 28 | A |
| Palmyra Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Palmyra Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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. Hawley Public Library serves 6,156 people in and around Hawley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hawley.
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 Hawley
Does Hawley have a public library?
Yes. Hawley Public Library, 103 Main St., serves 6,156 people in and around Hawley (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hawley 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 Hawley’s library?
It logged 8.0 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hawley’s civic life grade?
A Hawley is ahead of 93% 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 Hawley.
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.