Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0South Park Township’s library runs 60 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
South Park Township Library serves South Park Township’s 13,727 residents. Last year it lent 124K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
What South Park Township’s library is like
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
South Park Township Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
South Park Township Library ran 829 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 60 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 829 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 280 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 South Park Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Park Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #648 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($76K–$126K) 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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in South Park Township
3.0 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.
6.2%
6.2% of South Park 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 Park Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in South Park Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
South Park Township Library serves 13,727 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
124K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 57K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
29,324 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
South Park Township Library, 2575 Brownsville Rd, South Park.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Park 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 $2.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Park Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $701K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $701K 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 4,675 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Park Township ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Park | Bethel Park Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 57 | C |
| South Park Township | South Park Township Library | 9.0 | 48 | C |
| Jefferson Hills | Jefferson Hills Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 44 | C− |
| Baldwin | Baldwin Borough Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 53 | C− |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Park Township
Does South Park Township have a public library?
Yes. South Park Township Library, 2575 Brownsville Rd, serves South Park Township’s 13,727 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Park Township 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 Park Township’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 9.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is South Park Township’s civic life grade?
C South Park Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on civic life, #648 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 Park 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.