Photo: Sdwelch1031 · Public domainWest Pikeland Township’s library runs 99 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Chester Springs Library serves West Pikeland Township’s 4,024 residents. Last year it lent 67K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
What West Pikeland Township’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 22 items per child in West Pikeland Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most of West Pikeland Township’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 52% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 48%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Top 10% in Pennsylvania for borrowing
West Pikeland Township ranks #9 of 109 Pennsylvania towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 8 items per resident, more than at 85% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
31% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 56%. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Chester Springs Library ran 400 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 99 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 8,626 attended. 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.
What’s behind West Pikeland Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Pikeland Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #287 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in West Pikeland Township
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.4%
6.4% of West Pikeland 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 Pikeland Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in West Pikeland Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Chester Springs Library serves 4,024 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
52% of borrowing is digital
67K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
34,696 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Chester Springs Library, 1709 Art School Road, Chester Springs.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in West Pikeland 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 $4.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Pikeland Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $231K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $231K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,608 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 Pikeland Township | Chester Springs Library | 16.6 | 46 | B |
| West Vincent Township | Henrietta Hankin Branch Library | — | 59 | B− |
| Uwchlan Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| East Pikeland Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Charlestown Township | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Pikeland Township
Does West Pikeland Township have a public library?
Yes. Chester Springs Library, 1709 Art School Road, serves West Pikeland Township’s 4,024 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chester Springs Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is West Pikeland Township’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 16.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is West Pikeland Township’s civic life grade?
B West Pikeland Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on civic life, #287 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 West Pikeland 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.