Photo: Purple pirouette · CC BY-SA 3.0Shrewsbury’s library is a branch of Paul Smith Library of Southern York County, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size
Shrewsbury’s library is the Southern York County Library, a branch of Paul Smith Library of Southern York County, which serves 15,630 people and lent 126K items last year.
Shrewsbury’s library, in brief
Busy on a lean budget
The Paul Smith Library of Southern York County system spends $16 per resident, less than 88% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). It’s still borrowed from more than 76% of them. What your card is worth ↓
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 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
35% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 36%. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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; Shrewsbury’s library is a branch of Paul Smith Library of Southern York County, so they cover the whole system (15,630 people), not just the Shrewsbury branch.
What’s behind Shrewsbury’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shrewsbury is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #106 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Shrewsbury is graded on two of the three inputs. Shrewsbury’s count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Shrewsbury
7.2 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Shrewsbury’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 Shrewsbury’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Paul Smith Library of Southern York County serves 15,630 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 51 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Paul Smith Library of Southern York County system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
126K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Southern York County Library, 80 Constitution Ave, Shrewsbury.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Paul Smith Library of Southern York County branch.
New in Shrewsbury? 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 $7.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shrewsbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $253K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $253K 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 8,233 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shrewsbury | Southern York County Library | — | 48 | B+ |
| Shrewsbury Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Hopewell 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.
- System-wide. Southern York County Library is one branch of Paul Smith Library of Southern York County, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 15,630 people it serves.
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 Shrewsbury
Does Shrewsbury have a public library?
Yes: Southern York County Library, 80 Constitution Ave, is a branch of Paul Smith Library of Southern York County, which serves 15,630 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paul Smith Library of Southern York County 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 Shrewsbury’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Shrewsbury’s civic life grade?
B+ Shrewsbury is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #106 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 Shrewsbury.
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.