Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0South Fork’s library logs 4.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
South Fork Public Library serves 954 people in and around South Fork. Last year it lent 5,603 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,629 visits.
What South Fork’s library is like
More library cards than residents
1,267 cards for 954 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Most of South Fork’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 66% of loans, more per resident than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 34%. What people borrow ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
54% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 27%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
South Fork Public Library serves 954 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 45 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
South Fork Public Library serves more than South Fork
The library’s service area covers 954 people in and around South Fork, 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind South Fork’s civic life grade
South Fork 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 →
66% of borrowing is digital
5,603 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
3,716 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
South Fork Public Library serves 954 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
17 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
South Fork Public Library, 320 Main St., South Fork.
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 South Fork? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Fork cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $52K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $92K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $52K 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 1,267 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Fork | South Fork Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 45 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Croyle Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Adams Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| East Taylor 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 South Fork
Does South Fork have a public library?
Yes. South Fork Public Library, 320 Main St., serves 954 people in and around South Fork (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Fork 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 South Fork’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is South Fork’s civic life grade?
South Fork 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 South Fork.
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.