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Friends Memorial Public Library

Kane’s library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Friends Memorial Public Library serves 5,251 people in and around Kane. Last year it lent 7,250 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,110 visits.

230 Chase Street, Kane 16735 · about 33 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAhead of 98% of U.S. towns · #3 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (814) 837-7010 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
7,250
1.4 per resident
Visits a year
7,110
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
147
about 3 a week · 2,229 attended
Cardholders
14%
721 cards
Open
33 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Kane’s library is like

Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes

77% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 10%. What your card is worth ↓

Friends Memorial Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Friends Memorial Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% 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; Friends Memorial Public Library serves 5,251 people in and around Kane, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Kane’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kane is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #3 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Kane is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Kane’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Kane’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA+Community nonprofits11.6 per 1,000 residents · PA towns 3.7 · U.S. 3.7AVolunteering11.3% of adults 25–44 · PA towns 7.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 98%
FewerMore
Pennsylvania towns we grade (1,029)#3 of 1,029
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$65K (5,649)Ahead of 97%

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. Kane is small (3,463 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

41 community nonprofits are registered in Kane

11.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture71.98 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation92.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans82.26 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services51.41 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education41.13 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals51.41 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.57 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

11.3%

11.3% of Kane’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 Kane’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3Lower than 81%
Borrowing per resident 0.9 print items · typical 3.8Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.5 e-items · typical 1Lower than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 0.2 kids’ items · typical 1.6Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 56%
Programs offered 28 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 59%
Cardholders 14% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $19 per resident · typical $43Lower than 86%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Friends Memorial Public Library serves 5,251 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Friends Memorial Public Library system. The library’s own count.

7,110
visits
1.4 per resident
7,250
loans, print + digital
1.4 per resident
147
programs & events
2,229 attended
721
library cards
14% of people served
Every open hour4items borrowed
Every week43people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)11 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

7,250 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

7,250loans
Books & media (adults) 49%Kids’ books & media 14%E-books, audio & streaming 36%
From your couch

2,645 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 1 kids’ program a week

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

Schools in Kane →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–525
Ages 6–1140
Teens17
Adults30
All ages35
Little ones
0.5

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

1,050
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,229
people at programs
147
programs
The building

Find it

Friends Memorial Public Library, 230 Chase Street, Kane.

Directions(814) 837-7010
33
hours open a week
3,500
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Friends Memorial Public Library branch.

New in Kane? 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 $1.40 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kane cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$19 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $98K.

Local taxes 10%State 13%Gifts & other 77%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $137K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $98K 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 721 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. Friends Memorial Public Library serves 5,251 people in and around Kane, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Kane.

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 Kane

Does Kane have a public library?

Yes. Friends Memorial Public Library, 230 Chase Street, serves 5,251 people in and around Kane (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Friends Memorial 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 Kane’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Kane’s civic life grade?

A+ Kane is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Kane.

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.