Zion Lutheran Church · Photo: National Park Service · Public domainMiddle Smithfield Township’s library is a branch of Eastern Monroe Public Library, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size
Middle Smithfield Township’s library is the Smithfield Branch Library, a branch of Eastern Monroe Public Library, which serves 89,862 people and lent 286K items last year.
Middle Smithfield Township’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
56% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Eastern Monroe Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 639 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 228 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; Middle Smithfield Township’s library is a branch of Eastern Monroe Public Library, so they cover the whole system (89,862 people), not just the Middle Smithfield Township branch.
What’s behind Middle Smithfield Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Middle Smithfield Township is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #848 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Middle Smithfield Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Eastern Monroe Public Library spends $23 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($66K–$110K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Middle Smithfield Township
1.6 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Middle Smithfield 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 Middle Smithfield Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Eastern Monroe Public Library serves 89,862 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eastern Monroe Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
286K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
39,971 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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.
Find it
Smithfield Branch Library, 5200 Milford Road, East Stroudsburg.
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 Eastern Monroe Public Library branch.
New in Middle Smithfield 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 $2.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Middle Smithfield Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 25,392 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Smithfield Township | Smithfield Branch Library fine-free | — | 45 | C− |
| Lehman Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Hardwick Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Walpack Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Price Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Porter Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Smithfield Branch Library is one branch of Eastern Monroe Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 89,862 people it serves.
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 Middle Smithfield Township
Does Middle Smithfield Township have a public library?
Yes: Smithfield Branch Library, 5200 Milford Road, is a branch of Eastern Monroe Public Library, which serves 89,862 people. The branch is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eastern Monroe 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 Middle Smithfield Township’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Middle Smithfield Township’s civic life grade?
C− Middle Smithfield Township is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #848 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 Middle Smithfield 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.