Kemmerer House · Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0Salisbury Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is Allentown Public Library in Allentown, 2.8 miles away
Salisbury Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Allentown Public Library in Allentown, 2.8 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
D−Civic lifeFewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns.Getting a library card from Salisbury Township
Salisbury Township borrows from the libraries next door
Salisbury Township has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Allentown Public Library in Allentown (2.8 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Salisbury Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Fountain Hill, Dorneyville and Upper Milford Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Allentown (Allentown Public Library), Upper Saucon Township (Southern Lehigh Public Library) and Emmaus (Emmaus Public Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Salisbury Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salisbury Township has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Salisbury Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($76K–$127K) 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 →
Salisbury Township has few registered community nonprofits
0.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.8%
3.8% 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.
The closest is 2.8 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Salisbury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Macungie Township | Lower Macungie Library fine-free | 6.5 | 57 | C− |
| Allentown | Allentown Public Library | — | 61 | D |
| Upper Saucon Township | Southern Lehigh Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | C+ |
| Emmaus | Emmaus Public Library fine-free | — | 52 | B |
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Area Public Library | — | 55 | C+ |
| South Whitehall Township | Parkland Community Library fine-free | — | 62 | D |
| Fountain Hill | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Dorneyville | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Upper Milford 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.
- 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 Salisbury Township
Does Salisbury Township have a public library?
No. The closest is Allentown Public Library in Allentown, 2.8 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Salisbury Township’s civic life grade?
D− Salisbury Township has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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.