Penn Forest Township’s library is a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Penn Forest Township’s library is the Penn Kidder Branch, a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, which serves 19,560 people and lent 25K items last year.
Penn Forest Township’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
69% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 14%. What your card is worth ↓
The Dimmick Memorial Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Dimmick Memorial Library system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Penn Forest Township branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Dimmick Memorial Library system spends $11 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Penn Forest Township’s library is a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (19,560 people), not just the Penn Forest Township branch.
What’s behind Penn Forest Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Penn Forest Township is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #754 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Penn Forest Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Penn Forest Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Dimmick Memorial Library spends $11 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$84K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Penn Forest Township
0.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Penn Forest Township’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 Penn Forest Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Dimmick Memorial Library serves 19,560 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dimmick Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,251 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Penn Kidder Branch, 2588 Route 903, Albrightsville.
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 Dimmick Memorial Library branch.
New in Penn Forest Township? 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 $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Penn Forest Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $208K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $450K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $208K 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 2,521 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Forest Township | Penn Kidder Branch fine-free | — | 20 | C− |
| Jim Thorpe | Dimmick Memorial Library fine-free | — | 46 | A+ |
| Towamensing Trails | Penn Kidder Branch fine-free | — | 20 | — graded as part of its town |
| Kidder Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Lehigh Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Polk Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Tunkhannock Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Towamensing Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Indian Mountain Lake | 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.
- System-wide. Penn Kidder Branch is one branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 19,560 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 Penn Forest Township
Does Penn Forest Township have a public library?
Yes: Penn Kidder Branch, 2588 Route 903, is a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, which serves 19,560 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dimmick Memorial 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 Penn Forest Township’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Penn Forest Township’s civic life grade?
C− Penn Forest Township is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #754 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 Penn Forest Township.
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.