Photo: Bronayur at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Hershey’s library lends 9.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hershey Public Library serves 24,715 people in and around Hershey. Last year it lent 318K books, movies and e-books and logged 126K visits.
Hershey’s library, in brief
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 26% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Hershey is a town of borrowers
Hershey Public Library lends 9.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Hershey Public Library serves more than Hershey
The library’s service area covers 24,715 people in and around Hershey, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 1,251 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 347 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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.
What’s behind Hershey’s civic life grade
Hershey 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 7 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hershey Public Library serves 24,715 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 132 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
318K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 86K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.
83,618 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hershey Public Library, 701 Cocoa Ave., Hershey.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hershey? 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 $4.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hershey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 11,827 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hershey | Hershey Public Library | 12.9 | 46 | — graded as part of its town |
| Derry Township | Hershey Public Library | 12.9 | 46 | B+ |
| Palmdale | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| East Hanover Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| South Hanover 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Hershey
Does Hershey have a public library?
Yes. Hershey Public Library, 701 Cocoa Ave., serves 24,715 people in and around Hershey (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hershey Public 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 Hershey’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hershey’s civic life grade?
Hershey 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 Hershey.
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.