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Milton, PA RRPhoto: Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0
Milton Public Library

Milton’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size

Milton Public Library serves 11,697 people in and around Milton. Last year it lent 38K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.

541 Broadway St., Milton 17847 · about 37 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 76% of U.S. towns · #95 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
38K
3.3 per resident
Visits a year
16K
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
312
about 6 a week · 8,130 attended
Cardholders
24%
2,830 cards
Open
37 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Milton Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Milton’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Milton is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #95 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Milton is graded on two of the three inputs. Milton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Milton’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 76%
FewerMore
Pennsylvania towns we grade (1,029)Ahead of 91%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $41K–$68K (6,262)Ahead of 73%

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. Milton is small (6,457 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

56 community nonprofits are registered in Milton

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

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture30.46 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation40.61 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans152.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services121.84 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education91.38 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health30.46 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals50.77 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other50.77 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

7.0%

7.0% of Milton’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 Milton’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 80%
Borrowing per resident 2.7 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 66%
Digital borrowing 0.5 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 75%
Kids’ borrowing 1.3 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 62%
Program attendance 0.7 attendees · typical 0.4Higher than 73%
Programs offered 26.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Higher than 57%
Cardholders 24% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 79%
Spending $20 per resident · typical $43Lower than 83%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Milton Public Library serves 11,697 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out

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

16K
visits
1.4 per resident
38K
loans, print + digital
3.3 per resident
312
programs & events
8,130 attended
2,830
library cards
24% of people served
Every open hour20items borrowed
Every week156people at a program
Every day3Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)19 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

38K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

38Kloans
Books & media (adults) 44%Kids’ books & media 40%E-books, audio & streaming 16%
From your couch

5,960 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 Milton →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–574
Ages 6–1124
Teens17
Adults110
All ages87
Little ones
1.4

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

15K
kids’ books & media borrowed
8,130
people at programs
312
programs
The building

Find it

Milton Public Library, 541 Broadway St., Milton.

37
hours open a week
11,000
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 Milton Public Library branch.

New in Milton? 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 $2.71 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milton 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
$20 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $237K.

Local taxes 21%State 12%Gifts & other 66%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $644K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $237K 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 2,830 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
MiltonMilton Public Library fine-free—37A−
West Chillisquaque TownshipNone of its own——C−
Turbot TownshipNone of its own——D
White Deer TownshipNone of its own——B−
Kelly TownshipNone of its own——A
West MiltonNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
MontandonNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
New ColumbiaNone 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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Milton Public Library serves 11,697 people in and around Milton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Milton.

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 Milton

Does Milton have a public library?

Yes. Milton Public Library, 541 Broadway St., serves 11,697 people in and around Milton (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Milton 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 Milton’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Milton’s civic life grade?

A− Milton is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #95 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 Milton.

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.