Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0Shaler Township’s library runs 70 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Shaler North Hills Library serves Shaler Township’s 28,132 residents. Last year it lent 482K books, movies and e-books and logged 129K visits.
Shaler Township’s library, in brief
Shaler Township ranks 3rd in Pennsylvania for kids’ borrowing
Out of 107 Pennsylvania towns with a library of their own, Shaler Township comes 3rd for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #6 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Shaler North Hills Library ran 1,971 programs last year, about 38 a week. That’s 70 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 70,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 49 items per child in Shaler Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
50% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 45%. What your card is worth ↓
Shaler Township is a town of borrowers
Shaler North Hills Library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 3.3 times last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Shaler Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shaler Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #369 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
110 community nonprofits are registered in Shaler Township
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Shaler 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 Shaler Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 23 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 Shaler Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Shaler North Hills Library serves 28,132 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 186 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
482K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 120K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.3 times last year, on average.
84,902 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Shaler North Hills Library, 1822 Mount Royal Blvd, Glenshaw.
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 Shaler 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 $6.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shaler Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 13,045 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shaler Township borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaler Township | Shaler North Hills Library fine-free | 17.1 | 50 | B− |
| Glenshaw | Shaler North Hills Library fine-free | 17.1 | 50 | — graded as part of its town |
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| Hampton Township | Hampton Community Library | 8.8 | 44 | C |
| Allison Park | Hampton Community Library | 8.8 | 44 | — graded as part of its town |
| Millvale | Millvale Library fine-free | 7.0 | 43 | B− |
| Sharpsburg | Sharpsburg Branch Library fine-free | — | 34 | B+ |
| Etna | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Ross Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Reserve Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| O'Hara Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Shaler North Hills Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Shaler Township
Does Shaler Township have a public library?
Yes. Shaler North Hills Library, 1822 Mount Royal Blvd, serves Shaler Township’s 28,132 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shaler North Hills 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 Shaler Township’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 17.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Shaler Township’s civic life grade?
B− Shaler Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #369 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 Shaler 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.