Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0Sewickley Township’s library lends 2.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Sewickley Township Public Library serves Sewickley Township’s 5,647 residents. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Sewickley Township’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
77% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 2%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people Sewickley Township Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Sewickley Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sewickley Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #452 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Sewickley 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 ($56K–$94K) 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Sewickley Township
4.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Sewickley 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 Sewickley Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sewickley Township Public Library serves 5,647 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
2,680 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Sewickley Township last year.
Find it
Sewickley Township Public Library, 312 Sewickley Avenue, Herminie.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sewickley 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 $2.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sewickley Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $119K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $291K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $119K 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 839 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sewickley Township | Sewickley Township Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 40 | C+ |
| South Huntingdon Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Hempfield Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Elizabeth Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| North Huntingdon Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Yukon | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sutersville | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Madison | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Industry | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Buena Vista | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Collinsburg | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Sewickley Township
Does Sewickley Township have a public library?
Yes. Sewickley Township Public Library, 312 Sewickley Avenue, serves Sewickley Township’s 5,647 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sewickley Township 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 Sewickley Township’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sewickley Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Sewickley Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #452 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 Sewickley 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.