Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Philadelphia’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Philadelphia Public Library serves Philadelphia’s 1,843 residents. Last year it lent 2,129 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,631 visits.
Philadelphia’s library, in brief
Philadelphia Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Philadelphia Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $29 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Philadelphia Public Library serves 1,843 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 32 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Philadelphia Public Library offered 11 programs last year, 6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Philadelphia Public Library 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Philadelphia’s civic life grade
Philadelphia 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 under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Philadelphia Public Library serves 1,843 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. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,129 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,495 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
523 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
11 programs a year
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 Philadelphia last year.
Find it
Philadelphia Public Library, 714 Thompson St., Philadelphia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Philadelphia? 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 Philadelphia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $53K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $53K 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 234 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Philadelphia
Does Philadelphia have a public library?
Yes. Philadelphia Public Library, 714 Thompson St., serves Philadelphia’s 1,843 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Philadelphia’s civic life grade?
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia.
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.