Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWest Bethlehem Township’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Marianna Community Public Library serves 1,690 people in and around West Bethlehem Township. Last year it lent 1,801 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,100 visits.
What West Bethlehem Township’s library is like
Marianna Community Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Marianna Community Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $28 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
90% of the 101 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 45 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
39% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 21%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 4% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Marianna Community Public Library serves 1,690 people in and around West Bethlehem Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind West Bethlehem Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Bethlehem Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. West Bethlehem Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$81K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in West Bethlehem Township
3.4 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.5%
7.5% of West Bethlehem 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 West Bethlehem Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Marianna Community Public Library serves 1,690 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marianna Community Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,801 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
126 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
Marianna Community Public Library, 247 Jefferson Avenue, Marianna.
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 Marianna Community Public Library branch.
New in West Bethlehem Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Bethlehem Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $40K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 72 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bethlehem Township | Marianna Community Public Library fine-free | — | 37 | C+ |
| Amwell Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Morgan Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| North Bethlehem Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Deemston | 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. Marianna Community Public Library serves 1,690 people in and around West Bethlehem Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just West Bethlehem 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 West Bethlehem Township
Does West Bethlehem Township have a public library?
Yes. Marianna Community Public Library, 247 Jefferson Avenue, serves 1,690 people in and around West Bethlehem Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marianna Community 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 West Bethlehem Township’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is West Bethlehem Township’s civic life grade?
C+ West Bethlehem Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 West Bethlehem 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.