Photo: Pubdog · Public domainSt. Marys’ library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
St. Marys Public Library serves St. Marys’s 12,738 residents. Last year it lent 41K books, movies and e-books and logged 63K visits.
What St. Marys’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 30%. The building also logs about 43 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 81% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people St. Marys Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
28% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 48%. What your card is worth ↓
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 St. Marys’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Marys is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #13 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in St. Marys
6.0 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
15.1%
15.1% of St. Marys’ 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 St. Marys’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
St. Marys Public Library serves 12,738 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
9,306 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 St. Marys last year.
Find it
St. Marys Public Library, 127 Center St., St. Marys.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in St. Marys? 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 $1.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Marys cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $415K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $747K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $415K 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 1,996 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Marys | St. Marys Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 47 | A |
| Jones Township | Wilcox Public Library fine-free | 1.9 | 26 | B− |
| Ridgway Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Fox Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Jay Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Shippen Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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 St. Marys
Does St. Marys have a public library?
Yes. St. Marys Public Library, 127 Center St., serves St. Marys’ 12,738 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Marys 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 St. Marys’ library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is St. Marys’ civic life grade?
A St. Marys is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 St. Marys.
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.