First Methodist Episcopal Church of McKeesport · Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0McKeesport’s library runs 18 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Carnegie Library of Mckeesport serves 51,459 people in and around McKeesport. Last year it lent 108K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
The short version on McKeesport’s library
Carnegie Library of Mckeesport is used less than most libraries its size
Carnegie Library of Mckeesport records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
51% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 30%. What your card is worth ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today’s library there has 15,716 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
78% of the 927 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 170 were for children. 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; Carnegie Library of Mckeesport serves 51,459 people in and around McKeesport, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind McKeesport’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, McKeesport is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #606 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. McKeesport is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; McKeesport’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
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 →
63 community nonprofits are registered in McKeesport
3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (25 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of McKeesport’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 McKeesport’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Carnegie Library of Mckeesport, 1507 Library Avenue, Mckeesport.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carnegie Library of Mckeesport branch.
New in McKeesport? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Free Library
Carnegie Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 15, 1980. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Richardsonian Romanesque.
The Carnegie Library of McKeesport, is a public library built with funds from Pittsburgh steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. McKeesport is located about 15 miles up the Monongahela River from Pittsburgh. The grant for this library was commissioned April 2, 1899. Out of approximately 1,688 libraries funded by Carnegie in America, McKeesport's was the 12th be commissioned.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Carnegie Library of Mckeesport serves 51,459 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carnegie Library of Mckeesport system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
108K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
44,756 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McKeesport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $871K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $871K 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 8,195 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Versailles Township | N Versailles Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 44 | D |
| McKeesport | Carnegie Library of Mckeesport | — | 47 | C |
| White Oak | White Oak Branch | — | 19 | B+ |
| Duquesne | Duquesne Branch | — | 18 | C |
| Port Vue | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Versailles | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Liberty | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| West Mifflin | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Dravosburg | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Glassport | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Greenock | 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. Carnegie Library of Mckeesport serves 51,459 people in and around McKeesport, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just McKeesport.
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 McKeesport
Does McKeesport have a public library?
Yes. Carnegie Library of Mckeesport, 1507 Library Avenue, serves 51,459 people in and around McKeesport (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie Library of Mckeesport 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 McKeesport’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is McKeesport’s civic life grade?
C McKeesport is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #606 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 McKeesport.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.