Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY 3.0McDonald’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Heritage Public Library serves 7,981 people in and around McDonald. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
The short version on McDonald’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Heritage Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
41% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 40%. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 86% of similar-size libraries. 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; Heritage Public Library serves 7,981 people in and around McDonald, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind McDonald’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, McDonald is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. McDonald is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; McDonald’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$82K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in McDonald
3.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of McDonald’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 McDonald’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Heritage Public Library serves 7,981 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Heritage Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,373 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
97 programs a year
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
Heritage Public Library, 52 Fourth St., Mcdonald.
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 Heritage Public Library branch.
New in McDonald? 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 $2.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McDonald cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $140K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $334K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $140K 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 1,702 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Fayette Township | South Fayette Twp Library fine-free | 7.4 | 48 | C+ |
| McDonald | Heritage Public Library fine-free | — | 32 | C+ |
| North Fayette Township | Western Allegheny Comm Library fine-free | — | 58 | C |
| Robinson Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Cecil Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Sturgeon | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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. Heritage Public Library serves 7,981 people in and around McDonald, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just McDonald.
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 McDonald
Does McDonald have a public library?
Yes. Heritage Public Library, 52 Fourth St., serves 7,981 people in and around McDonald (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Heritage 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 McDonald’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is McDonald’s civic life grade?
C+ McDonald is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 McDonald.
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.