Photo: Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.0Pittsburgh’s library logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh serves Pittsburgh’s 392,273 residents from 19 locations. Last year it lent 3.8M books, movies and e-books and logged 1.7M visits.
What Pittsburgh’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Institute and Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Today’s library there has 148,845 square feet. The buildings ↓
People come to Pittsburgh’s library system a lot
Pittsburgh’s library system logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6.2 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
19 places to borrow in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s library system runs 19 locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
Pittsburgh invests in its library
Pittsburgh’s library system spends $107 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. 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 Pittsburgh’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pittsburgh is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #82 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #24. Pittsburgh is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Pittsburgh’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
1,722 community nonprofits are registered in Pittsburgh
5.7 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 (347 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 72 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Pittsburgh’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 Pittsburgh’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 77 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh serves 392,273 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 1.4M books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
1,329,932 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 51 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 Pittsburgh last year.
A National Register landmark since 1979
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh.
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 Pittsburgh? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Institute and Library
Carnegie Institute and Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 30, 1979. It is significant for its art, literature, education and performing arts at the national level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Baroque.
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a nonprofit organization that operates four museums in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The organization is headquartered in the Carnegie Institute and Library complex in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The Carnegie Institute complex, which includes the original museum, recital hall, and library, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1979.
More about the building →Other libraries in Pittsburgh
And 6 more in Pittsburgh.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pittsburgh cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $42M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $61M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $42M 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 213,505 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Pittsburgh ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Tree | Green Tree Public Library fine-free | 15.8 | 44 | B− |
| Crafton | Crafton Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 45 | B− |
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| Penn Hills | Penn Hills Library fine-free | 7.1 | 51 | — too few inputs |
| Wilkinsburg | Wilkinsburg Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 47 | C+ |
| Baldwin | Baldwin Borough Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 53 | C− |
| Ross Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Baldwin Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Reserve Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Ingram | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| West Mifflin | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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 Pittsburgh
Does Pittsburgh have a public library?
Yes. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 4400 Forbes Avenue, serves Pittsburgh’s 392,273 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 9.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Pittsburgh’s civic life grade?
A− Pittsburgh is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #82 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 Pittsburgh.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.