Slatington Historic District · Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0Slatington’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Slatington Public Library Inc serves 12,901 people in and around Slatington. Last year it lent 31K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,558 visits.
Slatington’s library, in brief
Slatington Public Library Inc is used less than most libraries its size
Slatington Public Library Inc records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
76% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 8%. What your card is worth ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 70% of loans, more per resident than at 68% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 30%. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Slatington Public Library Inc offered 57 programs last year, 4.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% 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; Slatington Public Library Inc serves 12,901 people in and around Slatington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Slatington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Slatington is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #400 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Slatington is graded on two of the three inputs. Slatington’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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Slatington
3.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Slatington’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 Slatington’s residents live; 2022.
70% of borrowing is digital
31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
22,150 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Slatington Public Library Inc serves 12,901 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Slatington Public Library Inc system. The library’s own count.
57 programs a year
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.
Find it
Slatington Public Library Inc, 650 Main St., Slatington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Slatington Public Library Inc branch.
New in Slatington? 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 $3.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Slatington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $155K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $483K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $155K 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 1,764 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slatington | Slatington Public Library Inc fine-free | — | 40 | B− |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Walnutport | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Lehigh Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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. Slatington Public Library Inc serves 12,901 people in and around Slatington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Slatington.
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 Slatington
Does Slatington have a public library?
Yes. Slatington Public Library Inc, 650 Main St., serves 12,901 people in and around Slatington (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Slatington Public Library Inc 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 Slatington’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Slatington’s civic life grade?
B− Slatington is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on civic life, #400 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 Slatington.
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.