Photo: Pubdog · Public domainRidgway’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Ridgway Free Library Association serves 8,022 people in and around Ridgway. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.
The short version on Ridgway’s library
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 15%. What your card is worth ↓
Ridgway Free Library Association is used less than most libraries its size
Ridgway Free Library Association records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $21 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 130 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Ridgway Free Library Association serves 8,022 people in and around Ridgway, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Ridgway’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ridgway is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #20 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Ridgway is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ridgway’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 →
53 community nonprofits are registered in Ridgway
13.4 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.5%
8.5% of Ridgway’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 Ridgway’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ridgway Free Library Association serves 8,022 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ridgway Free Library Association system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,229 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
Ridgway Free Library Association, 329 Center St., Ridgway.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Ridgway Free Library Association branch.
New in Ridgway? 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 $1.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ridgway cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $170K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $322K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $170K 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 889 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Ridgway Free Library Association serves 8,022 people in and around Ridgway, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ridgway.
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 Ridgway
Does Ridgway have a public library?
Yes. Ridgway Free Library Association, 329 Center St., serves 8,022 people in and around Ridgway (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ridgway Free Library Association 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 Ridgway’s library?
It logged 1.3 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 Ridgway’s civic life grade?
A Ridgway is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Ridgway.
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.