Scottdale Armory · Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0Scottdale’s library runs 31 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Scottdale Public Library serves 14,695 people in and around Scottdale. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
The short version on Scottdale’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
58% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 16%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 461 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Scottdale Public Library serves 14,695 people in and around Scottdale, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Scottdale’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Scottdale is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #60 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Scottdale is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Scottdale’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Scottdale
6.4 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.3%
8.3% of Scottdale’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 Scottdale’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Scottdale Public Library serves 14,695 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Scottdale Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,084 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 kids’ programs 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.
Find it
Scottdale Public Library, 106 Spring Street, Scottdale.
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 Scottdale Public Library branch.
New in Scottdale? 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 $2.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scottdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $251K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $689K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $251K 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 2,368 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottdale | Scottdale Public Library fine-free | — | 45 | A− |
| East Huntingdon Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Upper Tyrone Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Everson | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Scottdale Public Library serves 14,695 people in and around Scottdale, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Scottdale.
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 Scottdale
Does Scottdale have a public library?
Yes. Scottdale Public Library, 106 Spring Street, serves 14,695 people in and around Scottdale (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scottdale 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 Scottdale’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Scottdale’s civic life grade?
A− Scottdale is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #60 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 Scottdale.
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.