Photo: Nyttend · Public domainTionesta’s library runs 98 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library serves 2,612 people in and around Tionesta. Last year it lent 7,455 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,370 visits.
The short version on Tionesta’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
40% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 24%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 51% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library ran 256 programs last year, about 5 a week. That’s 98 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 256 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 46 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; Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library serves 2,612 people in and around Tionesta, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Tionesta’s civic life grade
Tionesta isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
256 programs a year
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library serves 2,612 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,455 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,395 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library, 156 Elm St., Tionesta.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library branch.
New in Tionesta? 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 $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tionesta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $90K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $115K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $90K 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 500 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library serves 2,612 people in and around Tionesta, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Tionesta.
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 Tionesta
Does Tionesta have a public library?
Yes. Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial Library, 156 Elm St., serves 2,612 people in and around Tionesta (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sarah Stewart Bovard Memorial 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 Tionesta’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Tionesta’s civic life grade?
Tionesta isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Tionesta.
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.