Photo: Smallbones at English Wikipedia · Public domainWhitemarsh Township’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
William Jeanes Memorial Library serves Whitemarsh Township’s 19,707 residents. Last year it lent 224K books, movies and e-books and logged 102K visits.
Whitemarsh Township’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 25 items per child in Whitemarsh Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Whitemarsh Township’s library lends 11 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Lower Merion Township at 18. Libraries next door ↓
Whitemarsh Township is a town of borrowers
William Jeanes Memorial Library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 3.9 times last year. 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.
What’s behind Whitemarsh Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Whitemarsh Township is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #175 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 →
84 community nonprofits are registered in Whitemarsh Township
4.2 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.5%
7.5% of Whitemarsh 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 Whitemarsh Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 Whitemarsh Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
William Jeanes Memorial Library serves 19,707 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 85 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
224K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.9 times last year, on average.
24,891 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
William Jeanes Memorial Library, 4051 Joshua Rd, Lafayette Hill.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Whitemarsh 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 $3.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whitemarsh Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 7,371 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Whitemarsh Township ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Merion Township | Ludington Public Library | 18.2 | 66 | A |
| Springfield Township | Free Library of Springfield Township | 16.6 | 62 | B+ |
| Upper Dublin Township | Upper Dublin Public Library fine-free | 15.7 | 63 | A− |
| Fort Washington | Upper Dublin Public Library fine-free | 15.7 | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| Whitemarsh Township | William Jeanes Memorial Library fine-free | 11.4 | 50 | B+ |
| Conshohocken | Conshohocken Free Library | — | 39 | C+ |
| Philadelphia | Free Library of Philadelphia fine-free | — | 49 | D |
| Plymouth Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Plymouth Meeting | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Whitemarsh Township
Does Whitemarsh Township have a public library?
Yes. William Jeanes Memorial Library, 4051 Joshua Rd, serves Whitemarsh Township’s 19,707 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is William Jeanes 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 Whitemarsh Township’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 11.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Whitemarsh Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Whitemarsh Township is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #175 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 Whitemarsh 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.