St. Mark's Episcopal Church · Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainJim Thorpe’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Dimmick Memorial Library serves 19,560 people in and around Jim Thorpe. Last year it lent 25K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
Jim Thorpe’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
69% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 14%. What your card is worth ↓
Dimmick Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Dimmick Memorial Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Dimmick Memorial Library spends $11 per resident, less than 95% 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; Dimmick Memorial Library serves 19,560 people in and around Jim Thorpe, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Jim Thorpe’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jim Thorpe is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #5 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Jim Thorpe is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Jim Thorpe’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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Jim Thorpe
10.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.1%
10.1% of Jim Thorpe’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 Jim Thorpe’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Dimmick Memorial Library serves 19,560 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dimmick Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,251 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
Dimmick Memorial Library, 54 Broadway, Jim Thorpe.
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 Dimmick Memorial Library branch.
New in Jim Thorpe? 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 $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jim Thorpe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $208K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $450K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $208K 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 2,521 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Thorpe | Dimmick Memorial Library fine-free | — | 46 | A+ |
| Penn Forest Township | Penn Kidder Branch fine-free | — | 20 | C− |
| Lehigh Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Nesquehoning | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Mahoning Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Summit Hill | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Dimmick Memorial Library serves 19,560 people in and around Jim Thorpe, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Jim Thorpe.
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 Jim Thorpe
Does Jim Thorpe have a public library?
Yes. Dimmick Memorial Library, 54 Broadway, serves 19,560 people in and around Jim Thorpe (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dimmick Memorial 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 Jim Thorpe’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Jim Thorpe’s civic life grade?
A+ Jim Thorpe is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #5 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 Jim Thorpe.
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.