Ridley Township’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Ridley Township Public Library serves Ridley Township’s 31,053 residents. Last year it lent 174K books, movies and e-books and logged 80K visits.
What stands out about Ridley Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Ridley Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ridley Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #884 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Ridley Township Public Library spends $23 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($70K–$116K) 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 →
54 community nonprofits are registered in Ridley Township
1.8 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 (9 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.
6.3%
6.3% of Ridley 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 Ridley Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Ridley Township Public Library serves 31,053 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 70 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
174K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 50K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
30,642 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 Ridley Township last year.
Find it
Ridley Township Public Library, 100 E Macdade Blvd, Folsom.
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 Ridley 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 $3.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ridley Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $715K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $715K 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 6,333 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ridley Township ranks 3rd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swarthmore | Swarthmore Public Library | 15.6 | 49 | A |
| Nether Providence Township | Helen Kate Furness Free Library | 8.0 | 48 | B |
| Ridley Township | Ridley Township Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 48 | C− |
| Folsom | Ridley Township Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 48 | — graded as part of its town |
| Ridley Park | Ridley Park Public Library fine-free | 4.1 | 44 | C− |
| Prospect Park | Prospect Park Free Library | 2.4 | 33 | C− |
| Chester | J Lewis Crozer Library | 0.4 | 45 | D |
| Woodlyn | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Eddystone | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Rutledge | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| 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.
- 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 Ridley Township
Does Ridley Township have a public library?
Yes. Ridley Township Public Library, 100 E Macdade Blvd, serves Ridley Township’s 31,053 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ridley Township Public 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 Ridley Township’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ridley Township’s civic life grade?
C− Ridley Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #884 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 Ridley 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.