Centennial Bridge · Photo: Rob Tucher · Public domainUpper Saucon Township’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Southern Lehigh Public Library serves 23,281 people in and around Upper Saucon Township. Last year it lent 118K books, movies and e-books and logged 47K visits.
The short version on Upper Saucon Township’s library
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 270 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 65% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 66% 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; Southern Lehigh Public Library serves 23,281 people in and around Upper Saucon Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Upper Saucon Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Upper Saucon Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #465 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Upper Saucon Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Upper Saucon Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($109K–$182K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
65 community nonprofits are registered in Upper Saucon Township
3.7 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of Upper Saucon 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 Upper Saucon Township’s 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.
Southern Lehigh Public Library serves 23,281 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 42 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southern Lehigh Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
118K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,573 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
Southern Lehigh Public Library, 3200 Preston Lane, Center Valley.
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 Southern Lehigh Public Library branch.
New in Upper Saucon 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 $3.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Upper Saucon Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $551K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $551K 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 6,977 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Saucon Township | Southern Lehigh Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | C+ |
| Coopersburg | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Salisbury Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Springfield Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Lower Saucon Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Upper Milford Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Lower Milford Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Southern Lehigh Public Library serves 23,281 people in and around Upper Saucon Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Upper Saucon Township.
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 Upper Saucon Township
Does Upper Saucon Township have a public library?
Yes. Southern Lehigh Public Library, 3200 Preston Lane, serves 23,281 people in and around Upper Saucon Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Southern Lehigh 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 Upper Saucon Township’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Upper Saucon Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Upper Saucon Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #465 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 Upper Saucon 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.