Photo: Gerry Dincher · CC BY-SA 2.0Mountville’s library is a branch of Lancaster Public Library, which lends less per resident than 78% of systems its size
Mountville’s library is the Lancaster Public Library West - Mountville Branch, a branch of Lancaster Public Library, which serves 214,988 people and lent 908K items last year.
The short version on Mountville’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
63% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 14%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Lancaster Public Library system offered 751 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 56% of loans, more per resident than at 71% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 44%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Lancaster Public Library system spends $11 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓
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; Mountville’s library is a branch of Lancaster Public Library, so they cover the whole system (214,988 people), not just the Mountville branch.
What’s behind Mountville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mountville is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #956 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Mountville 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.
Lancaster Public Library spends $11 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($73K–$122K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Mountville
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of Mountville’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 Mountville’s residents live; 2022.
56% of borrowing is digital
908K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
508,298 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Lancaster Public Library serves 214,988 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 176 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lancaster Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 8 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
Lancaster Public Library West - Mountville Branch, 120 College Avenue, Mountville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lancaster Public Library branch.
New in Mountville? 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 $5.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mountville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $14M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 27,792 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountville | Lancaster Public Library West - Mountville Branch | — | 44 | D |
| West Hempfield Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Manor Township | 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.
- System-wide. Lancaster Public Library West - Mountville Branch is one branch of Lancaster Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 214,988 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 Mountville
Does Mountville have a public library?
Yes: Lancaster Public Library West - Mountville Branch, 120 College Avenue, is a branch of Lancaster Public Library, which serves 214,988 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lancaster Public Library 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 Mountville’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Mountville’s civic life grade?
D Mountville is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #956 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 Mountville.
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.