White Chimneys · Photo: Smallbones · Public domainSalisbury Township’s library is a branch of Intercourse Library, which lends more per resident than 88% of systems its size
Salisbury Township’s library is the Salisbury Township Branch Library, a branch of Intercourse Library, which serves 22,818 people and lent 213K items last year.
Salisbury Township’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 74% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 81%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Intercourse Library system offered 80 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 80 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
32% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 24%. What your card is worth ↓
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; Salisbury Township’s library is a branch of Intercourse Library, so they cover the whole system (22,818 people), not just the Salisbury Township branch.
What’s behind Salisbury Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salisbury Township is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #977 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Salisbury Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Salisbury Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Intercourse Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $43 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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Salisbury Township
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.2%
4.2% of Salisbury 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 Salisbury Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Intercourse Library serves 22,818 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 56 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Intercourse Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
213K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,742 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Salisbury Township Branch Library, 835 Houston Run Drive, Suite 220, Gap.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Intercourse Library branch.
New in Salisbury 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 $9.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salisbury Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $293K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $293K 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 4,024 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury Township | Salisbury Township Branch Library | — | 30 | D |
| Leacock Township | Pequea Valley Public Library | — | 44 | D |
| Honey Brook Township | Honey Brook Community Library | — | 41 | C |
| East Earl Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Caernarvon Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Paradise Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Sadsbury Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| West Caln Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
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.
- System-wide. Salisbury Township Branch Library is one branch of Intercourse Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,818 people it serves.
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 Salisbury Township
Does Salisbury Township have a public library?
Yes: Salisbury Township Branch Library, 835 Houston Run Drive, Suite 220, is a branch of Intercourse Library, which serves 22,818 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Intercourse 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 Salisbury Township’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Salisbury Township’s civic life grade?
D Salisbury Township is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #977 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 Salisbury 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.