Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Palmerton’s library runs 31 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Palmerton Area Library serves 13,955 people in and around Palmerton. Last year it lent 40K books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.
The short version on Palmerton’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 13%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
69% of the 428 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 132 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 90% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Palmerton Area Library serves 13,955 people in and around Palmerton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Palmerton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Palmerton is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #7 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Palmerton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Palmerton
6.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.7%
11.7% of Palmerton’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 Palmerton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Palmerton Area Library serves 13,955 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Palmerton Area Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,029 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Palmerton Area Library Association, 402 Delaware Ave, Palmerton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Palmerton Area Library branch.
New in Palmerton? 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 $2.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palmerton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $226K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $654K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $226K 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 2,854 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmerton | Palmerton Area Library Association fine-free | — | 48 | A+ |
| Lower Towamensing Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| East Penn Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Bowmanstown | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Palmerton Area Library serves 13,955 people in and around Palmerton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Palmerton.
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 Palmerton
Does Palmerton have a public library?
Yes. Palmerton Area Library, 402 Delaware Ave, serves 13,955 people in and around Palmerton (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Palmerton Area 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 Palmerton’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Palmerton’s civic life grade?
A+ Palmerton is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 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 Palmerton.
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.