Photo: Ii2nmd · CC BY-SA 4.0Lower Merion Township’s library logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Lower Merion Library System serves Lower Merion Township’s 63,633 residents from 6 locations. Last year it lent 1.2M books, movies and e-books and logged 557K visits.
The short version on Lower Merion Township’s library
Lower Merion Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Lower Merion Library System logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 34 items per child in Lower Merion Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Pennsylvania for borrowing
Lower Merion Township ranks #4 of 109 Pennsylvania towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 15 items per resident, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Lower Merion Township out-borrows every town next door
At 18.2 loans per resident, Lower Merion Township leads the eight towns here. The closest is Bala Cynwyd, at 18.2. Libraries next door ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 17% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Lower Merion Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lower Merion Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #17 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
435 community nonprofits are registered in Lower Merion Township
6.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (71 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 27 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.8%
8.8% of Lower Merion Township’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 Lower Merion Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 67 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lower Merion Library System serves 63,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 469K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
198,974 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 17 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Lower Merion Township last year.
6 places to borrow in Lower Merion Township
Ludington Public Library, 5 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lower Merion Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Lower Merion Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lower Merion Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.9M 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 39,862 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lower Merion Township borrows the most per resident of the 8 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Merion Township | Ludington Public Library | 18.2 | 66 | A |
| Bala Cynwyd | Bala Cynwyd Memorial Library | 18.2 | 60 | — graded as part of its town |
| Penn Wynne | Penn Wynne Library | 18.2 | 56 | — graded as part of its town |
| Bryn Mawr | Ludington Public Library | 18.2 | 66 | — graded as part of its town |
| Whitemarsh Township | William Jeanes Memorial Library fine-free | 11.4 | 50 | B+ |
| Radnor Township | Memorial Library of Radnor Township | 10.0 | 69 | B+ |
| Upper Merion Township | Upper Merion Township Library fine-free | 7.3 | 47 | C+ |
| Haverford Township | Haverford Township Free Library | 5.5 | 56 | B− |
| Philadelphia | Free Library of Philadelphia fine-free | — | 49 | D |
| Conshohocken | Conshohocken Free Library | — | 39 | C+ |
| West Conshohocken | 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.
- 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 Lower Merion Township
Does Lower Merion Township have a public library?
Yes. Lower Merion Library System, 5 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue, serves Lower Merion Township’s 63,633 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lower Merion Library System 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 Lower Merion Township’s library?
It logged 8.8 visits and lent 18.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lower Merion Township’s civic life grade?
A Lower Merion Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 Lower Merion Township.
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.