Photo: JoeRed · CC BY-SA 3.0South Londonderry Township’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Palmyra Public Library serves 25,517 people in and around South Londonderry Township. Last year it lent 134K books, movies and e-books and logged 112K visits.
South Londonderry Township’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
51% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Palmyra Public Library spends $14 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). It’s still busier than 71% of them. What your card is worth ↓
79% of the people it serves carry a library card
20,135 cards for 25,517 people, or 79%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 81% 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; Palmyra Public Library serves 25,517 people in and around South Londonderry Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind South Londonderry Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, South Londonderry Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #517 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. South Londonderry Township is graded on two of the three inputs. South Londonderry Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($84K–$140K) 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in South Londonderry Township
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of South Londonderry Township’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 South Londonderry Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Palmyra Public Library serves 25,517 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 57 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Palmyra Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
134K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,788 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, 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
Palmyra Public Library, 50 Landings Dr, Ste B, Palmyra.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Palmyra Public Library branch.
New in South Londonderry Township? 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 $5.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Londonderry Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $345K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $345K 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 20,135 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 Londonderry Township | Palmyra Public Library | — | 46 | C+ |
| South Annville Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Timber Hills | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Campbelltown | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Mount Gretna | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Conewago Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| North Londonderry Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| West Cornwall Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Mount Joy 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. Palmyra Public Library serves 25,517 people in and around South Londonderry Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just South Londonderry Township.
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 Londonderry Township
Does South Londonderry Township have a public library?
Yes. Palmyra Public Library, 50 Landings Dr, Ste B, serves 25,517 people in and around South Londonderry Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Palmyra 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 South Londonderry Township’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is South Londonderry Township’s civic life grade?
C+ South Londonderry Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #517 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 South Londonderry Township.
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.