Springfield Township’s library logs 4.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Springfield Township Library serves Springfield Township’s 25,070 residents. Last year it lent 178K books, movies and e-books and logged 112K visits.
The short version on Springfield Township’s library
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Springfield Township Library is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 547 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 77% 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.
What’s behind Springfield Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Springfield Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #286 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Library visits hold the grade up; Springfield Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
83 community nonprofits are registered in Springfield Township
3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.8%
7.8% of Springfield 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 Springfield Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 62 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Springfield Township Library serves 25,070 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
178K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 104K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
42,311 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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 Springfield Township last year.
Find it
Springfield Township Library, 70 Powell Rd, Springfield.
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 Springfield 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 $3.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Springfield Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $858K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $858K 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 9,427 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Springfield Township ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swarthmore | Swarthmore Public Library | 15.6 | 49 | A |
| Marple Township | Marple Public Library | 11.8 | 59 | C+ |
| Nether Providence Township | Helen Kate Furness Free Library | 8.0 | 48 | B |
| Springfield Township | Springfield Township Library fine-free | 7.1 | 56 | B |
| Ridley Township | Ridley Township Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 48 | C− |
| Folsom | Ridley Township Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 48 | — graded as part of its town |
| Haverford Township | Haverford Township Free Library | 5.5 | 56 | B− |
| Upper Darby Township | Upper Darby Township & Sellers Memorial Free Public Library fine-free | — | 53 | D |
| Drexel Hill | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Morton | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Woodlyn | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Springfield Township
Does Springfield Township have a public library?
Yes. Springfield Township Library, 70 Powell Rd, serves Springfield Township’s 25,070 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Springfield Township 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 Springfield Township’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 7.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Springfield Township’s civic life grade?
B Springfield Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on civic life, #286 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 Springfield 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.