Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Manheim Township’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Manheim Township Public Library serves Manheim Township’s 43,977 residents. Last year it lent 769K books, movies and e-books and logged 207K visits.
Manheim Township’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 72% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 46 items per child in Manheim Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 80,000 items on the shelves went out about 7.8 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Top 10% in Pennsylvania for borrowing
Manheim Township ranks #5 of 109 Pennsylvania towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 14 items per resident, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 19% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 705 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7.9 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Manheim Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Manheim Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #378 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
179 community nonprofits are registered in Manheim Township
4.1 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 (28 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.7%
5.7% of Manheim 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 Manheim Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 Manheim Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Manheim Township Public Library serves 43,977 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 302 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
769K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 80K books and other items on the shelves went out about 7.8 times last year, on average.
147,546 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Manheim Township Public Library, 595 Granite Run Dr, Lancaster.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Manheim Township? 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 $7.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manheim Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 16,677 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manheim Township | Manheim Township Public Library | 17.5 | 49 | B− |
| Lancaster | Lancaster Public Library | — | 56 | C+ |
| Warwick Township | Lititz Public Library | — | 59 | C |
| East Hempfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Upper Leacock Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| East Lampeter Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| East Petersburg | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Lancaster Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Penn Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| West Earl Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Manheim Township
Does Manheim Township have a public library?
Yes. Manheim Township Public Library, 595 Granite Run Dr, serves Manheim Township’s 43,977 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Manheim Township 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 Manheim Township’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 17.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Manheim Township’s civic life grade?
B− Manheim Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #378 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 Manheim 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.