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Middleburg, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0
Middleburg Community Library · part of Snyder County Libraries, Inc.

Middleburg’s library is a branch of Snyder County Libraries, Inc., which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size

Middleburg’s library is the Middleburg Community Library, a branch of Snyder County Libraries, Inc., which serves 39,736 people and lent 62K items last year.

13 N. Main St., Middleburg 17842 · about 23 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 23% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (570) 837-5931 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
62K
1.6 per resident
Visits a year
21K
0.5 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
225
about 4 a week · 2,752 attended
Cardholders
20%
8,121 cards
Open
23 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Middleburg’s library is like

The Snyder County Libraries, Inc. system is used less than most libraries its size

The Snyder County Libraries, Inc. system records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 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 ↓

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

43% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 26%. What your card is worth ↓

Few programs for a library this size

The Snyder County Libraries, Inc. system offered 225 programs last year, 5.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. 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; Middleburg’s library is a branch of Snyder County Libraries, Inc., so they cover the whole system (39,736 people), not just the Middleburg branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Middleburg’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Middleburg is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns. Middleburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Middleburg’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Middleburg’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureB−Community nonprofits3.5 per 1,000 residents · PA towns 3.7 · U.S. 3.7C−Volunteering5.5% of adults 25–44 · PA towns 7.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 23%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $44K–$73K (7,318)Ahead of 22%

Snyder County Libraries, Inc. spends $17 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Middleburg is small (1,302 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

4 community nonprofits are registered in Middleburg

3.5 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 & culture00.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.93 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans11.02 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.51 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

5.5%

5.5% of Middleburg’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 Middleburg’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.5 visits · typical 2.6Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 1.1 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 87%
Digital borrowing 0.5 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 79%
Kids’ borrowing 0.5 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 86%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.3Bottom 10%
Programs offered 5.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Lower than 88%
Cardholders 20% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 85%
Spending $17 per resident · typical $40Lower than 84%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Snyder County Libraries, Inc. serves 39,736 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Snyder County Libraries, Inc. system. The library’s own count.

21K
visits
0.5 per resident
62K
loans, print + digital
1.6 per resident
225
programs & events
2,752 attended
8,121
library cards
20% of people served
Every open hour10items borrowed
Every week53people at a program
Every day47Wi-Fi sessions
9 staff (full-time equivalent)19 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

62K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

62Kloans
Books & media (adults) 41%Kids’ books & media 30%E-books, audio & streaming 29%
From your couch

18,066 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Middleburg →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–595
Ages 6–1133
Teens6
Adults33
All ages58
Little ones
1.8

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

18K
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,752
people at programs
225
programs
The building

Find it

Middleburg Community Library, 13 N. Main St., Middleburg.

Directions(570) 837-5931
23
hours open a week
936
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Snyder County Libraries, Inc. branch.

New in Middleburg? 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 $1.46 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Middleburg 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: $40. Operating budget $692K.

Local taxes 26%State 22%Federal 10%Gifts & other 43%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $692K 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 8,121 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. Middleburg Community Library is one branch of Snyder County Libraries, Inc., so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 39,736 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 Middleburg

Does Middleburg have a public library?

Yes: Middleburg Community Library, 13 N. Main St., is a branch of Snyder County Libraries, Inc., which serves 39,736 people. The branch is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Snyder County Libraries, Inc. 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 Middleburg’s library?

It logged 0.5 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Middleburg’s civic life grade?

C− Middleburg is ahead of 23% 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 Middleburg.

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.