Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0Mount Penn has no public library of its own; the nearest is Southeast Branch Library in Reading, 1 miles away
Mount Penn doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Southeast Branch Library in Reading, 1 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
C−Civic lifeAhead of 17% of U.S. towns · #861 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Nonprofits and volunteering.Getting a library card from Mount Penn
Mount Penn borrows from the libraries next door
Mount Penn has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Southeast Branch Library in Reading (1 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Mount Penn isn’t the only town nearby without one
Lower Alsace Township, Pennside and St. Lawrence don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Reading (Reading Public Library) and Exeter Township (Exeter Community Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
The closest isn’t the one open longest
Southeast Branch Library is nearest, open about 30 hours a week. Reading Public Library, 2 miles away, is open about 51 hours a week, so it may be easier to fit in. Nearest libraries ↓
The nearby libraries are all fine-free
None of the four closest libraries charges late fines. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Mount Penn’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Penn is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #861 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Mount Penn is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Mount Penn’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$79K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Mount Penn
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of Mount Penn’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 Mount Penn’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 1 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Mount Penn. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Reading Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 51 | D− |
| Exeter Township | Exeter Community Library fine-free | — | 50 | C+ |
| Lower Alsace Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Pennside | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| St. Lawrence | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Mount Penn
Does Mount Penn have a public library?
No. The closest is Southeast Branch Library in Reading, 1 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Mount Penn’s civic life grade?
C− Mount Penn is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #861 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 Mount Penn.
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.