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North Main Street, Port Allegany, Pennsylvania - 20220424Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0
Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library

Port Allegany’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library serves 6,610 people in and around Port Allegany. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,290 visits.

201 E Maple St., Port Allegany 16743 · about 42 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAmong the top 1% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (814) 642-9210 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
13K
2 per resident
Visits a year
9,290
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
102
about 2 a week · 1,639 attended
Cardholders
13%
829 cards
Open
42 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Port Allegany’s library is like

Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes

58% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 15%. What your card is worth ↓

Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $26 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓

Programs lean toward adults

55% of the 102 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 35 were for children. Kids & programs ↓

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; Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library serves 6,610 people in and around Port Allegany, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Port Allegany’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Allegany is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Port Allegany is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Port Allegany near the top nationally; Port Allegany’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Port Allegany’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA+Community nonprofits12.7 per 1,000 residents · PA towns 3.7 · U.S. 3.7A+Volunteering17.0% of adults 25–44 · PA towns 7.0% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Among the top 1%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $49K–$82K (8,638)Among the top 1%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Port Allegany is small (2,031 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

30 community nonprofits are registered in Port Allegany

12.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture31.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation41.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans104.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services31.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education41.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.85 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.85 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.85 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

17.0%

17.0% of Port Allegany’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 Port Allegany’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3Lower than 80%
Borrowing per resident 1.4 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 85%
Digital borrowing 0.6 e-items · typical 1Lower than 65%
Kids’ borrowing 0.3 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 88%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 73%
Programs offered 15.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 77%
Cardholders 13% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $26 per resident · typical $43Lower than 76%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library serves 6,610 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library system. The library’s own count.

9,290
visits
1.4 per resident
13K
loans, print + digital
2 per resident
102
programs & events
1,639 attended
829
library cards
13% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week32people at a program
Every day57Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)9 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

13Kloans
Books & media (adults) 52%Kids’ books & media 17%E-books, audio & streaming 31%
From your couch

4,015 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

102 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Port Allegany →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–523
Ages 6–1112
Teens5
Adults56
All ages6
Little ones
0.4

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

2,258
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,639
people at programs
102
programs
The building

Find it

Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library, 201 E Maple St., Port Allegany.

Directions(814) 642-9210
42
hours open a week
3,753
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library branch.

New in Port Allegany? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.63 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Allegany cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
2
Your card saves you about
$276
a year at retail prices · $23 a month

Who pays for it
$26 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $172K.

Local taxes 15%State 27%Gifts & other 58%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $280K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $172K budget.

Late fines apply to some overdue items.

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 829 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library serves 6,610 people in and around Port Allegany, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Port Allegany.

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 Port Allegany

Does Port Allegany have a public library?

Yes. Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library, 201 E Maple St., serves 6,610 people in and around Port Allegany (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Port Allegany’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Port Allegany’s civic life grade?

A+ Port Allegany is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Port Allegany.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.