Narbrook Park Historic District · Photo: Smallbones · CC0Narberth’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Narberth Community Library serves Narberth’s 4,492 residents. Last year it lent 71K books, movies and e-books and logged 51K visits.
What Narberth’s library is like
Narberth ranks 3rd in Pennsylvania for library use
Out of 108 Pennsylvania towns with a library of their own, Narberth comes 3rd for visits per resident. It’s also #9 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Narberth uses its library more than almost any town its size
Narberth Community Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 33 items per child in Narberth last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 167 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 a week for ages 0–5. 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.
What’s behind Narberth’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Narberth is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #22 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Narberth
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
9.3%
9.3% of Narberth’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 Narberth’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Narberth last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Narberth Community Library serves 4,492 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
71K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
9,364 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Narberth Community Library, 80 Windsor Avenue, Narberth.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Narberth? 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 $3.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Narberth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $316K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $316K 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 2,553 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narberth | Narberth Community Library | 15.7 | 50 | A |
| Merion Station | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Wynnewood | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Narberth
Does Narberth have a public library?
Yes. Narberth Community Library, 80 Windsor Avenue, serves Narberth’s 4,492 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Narberth Community 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 Narberth’s library?
It logged 11.3 visits and lent 15.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Narberth’s civic life grade?
A Narberth is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #22 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 Narberth.
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.