North Wales’ library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
North Wales Area Library serves 20,498 people in and around North Wales. Last year it lent 141K books, movies and e-books and logged 64K visits.
The short version on North Wales’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
67% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 24%. What your card is worth ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%. What people borrow ↓
78% of the people it serves carry a library card
16,010 cards for 20,498 people, or 78%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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; North Wales Area Library serves 20,498 people in and around North Wales, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind North Wales’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, North Wales is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #912 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. North Wales 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.
North Wales Area Library spends $16 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($96K–$160K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in North Wales
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of North Wales’ 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 North Wales’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Wales Area Library serves 20,498 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 60 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole North Wales Area Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
141K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
57,353 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
North Wales Area Library, 233 South Swartley St., North Wales.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every North Wales Area Library branch.
New in North Wales? 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 $7.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Wales cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $335K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $335K 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 16,010 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. North Wales Area Library serves 20,498 people in and around North Wales, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just North Wales.
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 North Wales
Does North Wales have a public library?
Yes. North Wales Area Library, 233 South Swartley St., serves 20,498 people in and around North Wales (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Wales Area 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 North Wales’ library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 6.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Wales’ civic life grade?
D North Wales is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #912 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 North Wales.
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.