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Robesonia Furnace Historic DistrictRobesonia Furnace Historic District · Photo: Smallbones · CC0
Robesonia Community Library

Robesonia’s library lends 5.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Robesonia Community Library serves 4,986 people in and around Robesonia. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.

75-A South Brooke St., Robesonia 19551 · about 48 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 78% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
32K
6.3 per resident
Visits a year
18K
3.7 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
273
about 5 a week · 1,812 attended
Cardholders
25%
1,226 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Robesonia’s library

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

27% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 26%. What your card is worth ↓

Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf

Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 70% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓

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; Robesonia Community Library serves 4,986 people in and around Robesonia, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Robesonia’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Robesonia is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Robesonia is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Robesonia’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Robesonia’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 78%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $68K–$114K (8,252)Ahead of 80%

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. Robesonia is small (2,181 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

11 community nonprofits are registered in Robesonia

5.0 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 & culture10.53 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation21.06 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans31.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.53 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.71 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.53 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.9%

8.9% of Robesonia’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 Robesonia’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 3.7 visits · typical 3Higher than 61%
Borrowing per resident 5.8 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 71%
Digital borrowing 0.5 e-items · typical 1Lower than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 2.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 68%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 62%
Programs offered 54.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 71%
Cardholders 25% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 78%
Spending $25 per resident · typical $43Lower than 77%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Robesonia Community Library serves 4,986 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 13 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Robesonia Community Library system. The library’s own count.

18K
visits
3.7 per resident
32K
loans, print + digital
6.3 per resident
273
programs & events
1,812 attended
1,226
library cards
25% of people served
Every open hour13items borrowed
Every week35people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

32Kloans
Books & media (adults) 53%Kids’ books & media 39%E-books, audio & streaming 8%
From your couch

2,521 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Robesonia →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–568
Ages 6–1121
Teens32
Adults56
All ages96
Little ones
1.3

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

12K
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,812
people at programs
273
programs
The building

Find it

Robesonia Community Library, 75-A South Brooke St., Robesonia.

48
hours open a week
2,400
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Robesonia Community Library branch.

New in Robesonia? 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 $3.86 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$348
a year at retail prices · $29 a month

Who pays for it
$25 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $127K.

Local taxes 26%State 47%Gifts & other 27%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $490K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $127K 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 1,226 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. Robesonia Community Library serves 4,986 people in and around Robesonia, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Robesonia.

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 Robesonia

Does Robesonia have a public library?

Yes. Robesonia Community Library, 75-A South Brooke St., serves 4,986 people in and around Robesonia (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Robesonia Community 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 Robesonia’s library?

It logged 3.7 visits and lent 6.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Robesonia’s civic life grade?

A− Robesonia is ahead of 78% 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 Robesonia.

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.