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Mansfield ArmoryMansfield Armory · Photo: Pubdog · Public domain
Mansfield Free Public Library

Mansfield’s library runs 4.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Mansfield Free Public Library serves 5,008 people in and around Mansfield. Last year it lent 18K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,316 visits.

71 North Main St., Mansfield 16933 · about 40 hours a week
B−Civic lifeAhead of 51% of U.S. towns · #342 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (570) 662-3850 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
18K
3.6 per resident
Visits a year
9,316
1.9 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
21
about 1 a week · 238 attended
Cardholders
29%
1,449 cards
Open
40 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Mansfield’s library is like

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

44% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 39%. What your card is worth ↓

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Mansfield Free Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Mansfield Free Public Library offered 21 programs last year, 4.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Mansfield Free Public Library serves 5,008 people in and around Mansfield, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Mansfield’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mansfield is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #342 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Mansfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Mansfield’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Mansfield’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA−Community nonprofits5.4 per 1,000 residents · PA towns 3.7 · U.S. 3.7CVolunteering6.0% of adults 25–44 · PA towns 7.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 51%
FewerMore
Pennsylvania towns we grade (1,029)Ahead of 67%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $36K–$60K (4,176)Ahead of 51%

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. Mansfield is small (2,937 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

16 community nonprofits are registered in Mansfield

5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.43 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.13 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans31.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services31.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.13 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.57 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other31.14 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

6.0%

6.0% of Mansfield’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 Mansfield’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 1.9 visits · typical 3Lower than 71%
Borrowing per resident 2.8 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 64%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1Lower than 57%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 65%
Program attendance 0 attendees · typical 0.5Bottom 10%
Programs offered 4.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Bottom 10%
Cardholders 29% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 71%
Spending $17 per resident · typical $43Lower than 88%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Mansfield Free Public Library serves 5,008 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 9 items go out

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

9,316
visits
1.9 per resident
18K
loans, print + digital
3.6 per resident
21
programs & events
238 attended
1,449
library cards
29% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week5people at a program
Every week179visits
1 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

18Kloans
Books & media (adults) 48%Kids’ books & media 30%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
From your couch

4,094 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

21 programs a year

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

Schools in Mansfield →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–53
Ages 6–118
Teens0
Adults8
All ages2
Little ones
0.1

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

5,403
kids’ books & media borrowed
238
people at programs
21
programs
The building

Find it

Mansfield Free Public Library, 71 North Main St., Mansfield.

Directions(570) 662-3850
40
hours open a week
3,394
square feet
With a card

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 Mansfield Free Public Library branch.

New in Mansfield? 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 $3.32 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mansfield 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
$17 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $84K.

Local taxes 39%State 17%Gifts & other 44%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $278K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $84K 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 1,449 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. Mansfield Free Public Library serves 5,008 people in and around Mansfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Mansfield.

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 Mansfield

Does Mansfield have a public library?

Yes. Mansfield Free Public Library, 71 North Main St., serves 5,008 people in and around Mansfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Mansfield Free Public 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 Mansfield’s library?

It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Mansfield’s civic life grade?

B− Mansfield is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on civic life, #342 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 Mansfield.

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.