Towamensing Trails’ library is a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Towamensing Trails’s library is the Penn Kidder Branch, a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, which serves 19,560 people and lent 25K items last year.
The short version on Towamensing Trails’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
69% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 14%. What your card is worth ↓
The Dimmick Memorial Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Dimmick Memorial Library system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Towamensing Trails branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Dimmick Memorial Library system spends $11 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Towamensing Trails’s library is a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (19,560 people), not just the Towamensing Trails branch.
What’s behind Towamensing Trails’ civic life grade
Towamensing Trails 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Dimmick Memorial Library serves 19,560 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dimmick Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,251 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, 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
Penn Kidder Branch, 2588 Route 903, Albrightsville.
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 Dimmick Memorial Library branch.
New in Towamensing Trails? 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 $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Towamensing Trails cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $208K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $450K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $208K 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 2,521 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towamensing Trails | Penn Kidder Branch fine-free | — | 20 | — graded as part of its town |
| Penn Forest Township | Penn Kidder Branch fine-free | — | 20 | C− |
| Kidder Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Albrightsville | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Penn Kidder Branch is one branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 19,560 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 Towamensing Trails
Does Towamensing Trails have a public library?
Yes: Penn Kidder Branch, 2588 Route 903, is a branch of Dimmick Memorial Library, which serves 19,560 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dimmick 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 Towamensing Trails’ library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Towamensing Trails’ civic life grade?
Towamensing Trails 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 Towamensing Trails.
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.