Smithton’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Rostraver Public Library serves 17,723 people in and around Smithton. Last year it lent 44K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Smithton’s library
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 18%. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
Rostraver Public Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Rostraver Public Library in Rostraver Township, next door, is open about 42 hours a week. The building ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Rostraver Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Rostraver Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Rostraver Public Library serves more than Smithton
The library’s service area covers 17,723 people in and around Smithton, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 Smithton’s civic life grade
Smithton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Rostraver Public Library serves 17,723 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. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
44K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
6,008 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
Find it
Smithton Public Library, 615 Center Street, Smithton.
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 Smithton? 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 $4.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Smithton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $176K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $707K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $176K 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 2,448 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithton | Smithton Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 13 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Rostraver Township | Rostraver Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 42 | C |
| South Huntingdon 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.
- 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 Smithton
Does Smithton have a public library?
Yes. Rostraver Public Library, 615 Center Street, serves 17,723 people in and around Smithton (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rostraver 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 Smithton’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Smithton’s civic life grade?
Smithton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Smithton.
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.