Palmer Heights’ library is a branch of Easton Area Public Library, which lends less per resident than 67% of systems its size
Palmer Heights’s library is the Palmer Library, a branch of Easton Area Public Library, which serves 69,439 people and lent 201K items last year.
The short version on Palmer Heights’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 1,049 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 9 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; Palmer Heights’s library is a branch of Easton Area Public Library, so they cover the whole system (69,439 people), not just the Palmer Heights branch.
What’s behind Palmer Heights’ civic life grade
Palmer Heights isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Easton Area Public Library serves 69,439 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Easton Area Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
201K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
33,056 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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
Palmer Library, 1 Weller Place, Easton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Easton Area Public Library branch.
New in Palmer Heights? 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 $1.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palmer Heights cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 10,613 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Palmer Library is one branch of Easton Area Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 69,439 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 Palmer Heights
Does Palmer Heights have a public library?
Yes: Palmer Library, 1 Weller Place, is a branch of Easton Area Public Library, which serves 69,439 people. The branch is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Easton Area Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Palmer Heights’ library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Palmer Heights’ civic life grade?
Palmer Heights isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Palmer Heights.
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.