Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0Shenandoah’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Shenandoah Area Free Public Library serves Shenandoah’s 4,243 residents. Last year it lent 3,075 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,871 visits.
What Shenandoah’s library is like
Shenandoah Area Free Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Shenandoah Area Free Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
57% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 4%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Shenandoah Area Free Public Library offered 15 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Shenandoah Area Free Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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 Shenandoah’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Shenandoah is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #477 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Shenandoah is graded on two of the three inputs. Shenandoah’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$57K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Shenandoah
6.3 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Shenandoah Area Free Public Library serves 4,243 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,075 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
29 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
15 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Shenandoah last year.
Find it
Shenandoah Area Free Public Library, 19 West Washington Street, Shenandoah.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shenandoah? 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 $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shenandoah cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $33K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $60K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33K 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 1,054 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shenandoah | Shenandoah Area Free Public Library | 0.7 | 36 | C+ |
| West Mahanoy Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Mahanoy Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Shenandoah
Does Shenandoah have a public library?
Yes. Shenandoah Area Free Public Library, 19 West Washington Street, serves Shenandoah’s 4,243 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shenandoah Area Free 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 Shenandoah’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Shenandoah’s civic life grade?
C+ Shenandoah is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #477 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 Shenandoah.
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.