Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA · CC BY 2.0Scranton’s library runs 8.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Scranton Public Library serves Scranton’s 96,329 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 299K books, movies and e-books and logged 184K visits.
Scranton’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Scranton Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Pennsylvania pays a big share
35% of the budget comes from the state, and 56% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The main library is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out. The buildings ↓
Three places to borrow in Scranton
Scranton Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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.
What’s behind Scranton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Scranton is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #501 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Scranton is graded on two of the three inputs. Scranton’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 ($38K–$63K) 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 →
318 community nonprofits are registered in Scranton
4.2 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 (70 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Scranton’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 Scranton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Scranton Public Library serves 96,329 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
299K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 193K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
55,208 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Scranton last year.
3 places to borrow in Scranton
Scranton Public Library, 500 Vine Street, Scranton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Scranton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Scranton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scranton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 34,805 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scranton | Scranton Public Library | 3.1 | 64 | C+ |
| Taylor | Taylor Community Library | — | 54 | D |
| Moosic | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Dunmore | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Ransom Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Roaring Brook Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| South Abington Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Spring Brook 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 Scranton
Does Scranton have a public library?
Yes. Scranton Public Library, 500 Vine Street, serves Scranton’s 96,329 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scranton Public 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 Scranton’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Scranton’s civic life grade?
C+ Scranton is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #501 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 Scranton.
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.