Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0Ross Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is Andrew Bayne Mem Library in Bellevue, 2.6 miles away
Ross Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Andrew Bayne Mem Library in Bellevue, 2.6 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
C+Civic lifeAhead of 40% of U.S. towns · #494 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Nonprofits and volunteering.Libraries for Ross Township, in brief
Ross Township borrows from the libraries next door
Ross Township has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Andrew Bayne Mem Library in Bellevue (2.6 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Ross Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Reserve Township and Ohio Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Pittsburgh (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh), Bellevue (Andrew Bayne Mem Library) and Shaler Township (Shaler North Hills Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
The closest isn’t the one open longest
Andrew Bayne Mem Library is nearest, open about 45 hours a week. Northland Public Library Authority, 3.3 miles away, is open about 62 hours a week, so it may be easier to fit in. Nearest libraries ↓
The nearby libraries are all fine-free
None of the four closest libraries charges late fines. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Ross Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ross Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #494 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Ross Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Ross Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($69K–$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 →
126 community nonprofits are registered in Ross Township
3.8 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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of Ross 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 Ross Township’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 2.6 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Ross Township. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaler Township | Shaler North Hills Library fine-free | 17.1 | 50 | B− |
| Bellevue | Andrew Bayne Mem Library fine-free | 11.1 | 45 | B− |
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| McCandless Township | Northland Public Library Authority fine-free | — | 62 | B− |
| Reserve Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Ohio Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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 Ross Township
Does Ross Township have a public library?
No. The closest is Andrew Bayne Mem Library in Bellevue, 2.6 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Ross Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Ross Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #494 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 Ross 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.