Photo: Max Chistokletov · CC BY-SA 3.0Swissvale’s library is a branch of Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale, which lends more per resident than 61% of systems its size
Swissvale’s library is the Carnegie Fr Lib of Swissvale, a branch of Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale, which serves 10,520 people and lent 93K items last year.
What Swissvale’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
58% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 34%. What your card is worth ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%. 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; Swissvale’s library is a branch of Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale, so they cover the whole system (10,520 people), not just the Swissvale branch.
What’s behind Swissvale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Swissvale is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #62 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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Swissvale
5.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.4%
11.4% of Swissvale’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 Swissvale’s residents live; 2022.
44% of borrowing is digital
93K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
41,134 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale serves 10,520 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale system. The library’s own count.
About 4 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
Carnegie Fr Lib of Swissvale, 1800 Monongahela Ave, Swissvale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale branch.
New in Swissvale? 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 $5.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Swissvale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $290K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $290K 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 4,237 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| Swissvale | Carnegie Fr Lib of Swissvale fine-free | — | 47 | A− |
| Edgewood | C C Mellor Memorial Library fine-free | — | 53 | A |
| Munhall | Carnegie Library of Homestead fine-free | — | 56 | B |
| Braddock Hills | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Rankin | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| North Braddock | 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.
- System-wide. Carnegie Fr Lib of Swissvale is one branch of Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 10,520 people it serves.
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 Swissvale
Does Swissvale have a public library?
Yes: Carnegie Fr Lib of Swissvale, 1800 Monongahela Ave, is a branch of Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale, which serves 10,520 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale 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 Swissvale’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 8.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Swissvale’s civic life grade?
A− Swissvale is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #62 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 Swissvale.
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.