Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0Penn Township’s library runs 10 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Penn Area Library serves Penn Township’s 24,099 residents. Last year it lent 116K books, movies and e-books and logged 46K visits.
Penn Township’s library, in brief
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people Penn Area Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Pennsylvania pays a big share
26% of the budget comes from the state, and 61% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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 68% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Penn Area Library spends $12 per resident, less than 93% 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.
What’s behind Penn Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Penn Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #504 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Penn Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($85K–$141K) 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 →
83 community nonprofits are registered in Penn Township
4.1 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Penn 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 Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Penn Area Library serves 24,099 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
116K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.
11,086 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, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Penn Township last year.
Find it
Penn Area Library, 2001 Municipal Court, Harrison City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Penn 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 $5.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Penn Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $298K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $298K 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 4,173 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 Township | Penn Area Library fine-free | 4.8 | 49 | C+ |
| Trafford | Trafford Community Public Library fine-free | 1.2 | 26 | C+ |
| Murrysville | Murrysville Community Library fine-free | — | 49 | B− |
| Jeannette | Jeannette Public Library fine-free | — | 44 | C− |
| Monroeville | Monroeville Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | B |
| Hempfield Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Level Green | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| North Huntingdon Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Manor | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Salem Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Penn | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Township
Does Penn Township have a public library?
Yes. Penn Area Library, 2001 Municipal Court, serves Penn Township’s 24,099 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Penn 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 Penn Township’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Penn Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Penn Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #504 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 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.