Photo: 颐园居 · CC BY-SA 4.0Philadelphia’s library runs 16 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Free Library of Philadelphia serves 1,603,797 people in and around Philadelphia from 51 locations. Last year it lent 5.8M books, movies and e-books and logged 1.6M visits.
Philadelphia’s library, in brief
Free Library of Philadelphia is used less than most libraries its size
Free Library of Philadelphia records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. How it compares ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 66% of loans, more per resident than at 72% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 34%. What people borrow ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Free Library of Philadelphia spends $74 per resident, more than 86% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 90% of them. What your card is worth ↓
51 branches in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has 51 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia, which serves 1,603,797 people in and around Philadelphia. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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; Free Library of Philadelphia serves 1,603,797 people in and around Philadelphia, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Philadelphia’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Philadelphia is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #929 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #264. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Philadelphia’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
5,495 community nonprofits are registered in Philadelphia
3.5 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 (1,830 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 411 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.2%
5.2% of Philadelphia’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 Philadelphia’s residents live; 2022.
66% of borrowing is digital
5.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,843,543 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Free Library of Philadelphia serves 1,603,797 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 68 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Free Library of Philadelphia system. The library’s own count.
About 292 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.
51 places to borrow in Philadelphia
Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St., Philadelphia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Free Library of Philadelphia branch.
New in Philadelphia? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Free Library of Philadelphia branches in Philadelphia
And 38 more in Philadelphia.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Philadelphia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $119M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $103M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $119M 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 589,660 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Merion Township | Ludington Public Library | 18.2 | 66 | A |
| Tinicum Township | Tinicum Memorial Public Library | 6.0 | 43 | C |
| Camden | Collingswood Free Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 54 | D |
| Yeadon | Yeadon Public Library | 2.7 | 52 | C |
| Folcroft | Folcroft Public Library | 1.5 | 45 | D |
| Philadelphia | Free Library of Philadelphia fine-free | — | 49 | D |
| Bensalem Township | Bensalem Library | — | 57 | D− |
| Upper Darby Township | Upper Darby Township & Sellers Memorial Free Public Library fine-free | — | 53 | D |
| Andalusia | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Colwyn | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Darby Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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. Free Library of Philadelphia serves 1,603,797 people in and around Philadelphia, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Philadelphia.
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 Philadelphia
Does Philadelphia have a public library?
Yes. Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St., serves 1,603,797 people in and around Philadelphia (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Free Library of Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Philadelphia’s civic life grade?
D Philadelphia is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #929 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 Philadelphia.
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.