Photo: Smallbones at en.wikipedia · Public domainOxford’s library runs 25 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Oxford Public Library serves 27,160 people in and around Oxford. Last year it lent 129K books, movies and e-books and logged 57K visits.
Oxford’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
45% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 60% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 681 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.3 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; Oxford Public Library serves 27,160 people in and around Oxford, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Oxford’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oxford is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #877 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Oxford is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Oxford’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Oxford Public Library spends $15 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$85K) 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Oxford
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of Oxford’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 Oxford’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Oxford Public Library serves 27,160 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oxford Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
129K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
35,898 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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
Oxford Public Library, 48 South Second Street, Oxford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Oxford Public Library branch.
New in Oxford? 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 $4.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oxford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $414K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $414K 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 7,182 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | Oxford Public Library | — | 53 | C− |
| Lower Oxford Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| East Nottingham 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. Oxford Public Library serves 27,160 people in and around Oxford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Oxford.
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 Oxford
Does Oxford have a public library?
Yes. Oxford Public Library, 48 South Second Street, serves 27,160 people in and around Oxford (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oxford 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 Oxford’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 4.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Oxford’s civic life grade?
C− Oxford is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #877 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 Oxford.
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.