Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0New Cumberland’s library runs 173 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Swaney Memorial Library serves 4,190 people in and around New Cumberland. Last year it lent 8,906 books, movies and e-books and logged 9,448 visits.
New Cumberland’s library, in brief
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Swaney Memorial Library ran 725 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 173 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
36% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Swaney Memorial Library serves 4,190 people in and around New Cumberland, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind New Cumberland’s civic life grade
New Cumberland 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 →
About 8 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Swaney Memorial Library serves 4,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Swaney Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
8,906 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for New Cumberland’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
2,568 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Swaney Memorial Library, 210 S. Court Street, New Cumberland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Swaney Memorial Library branch.
New in New Cumberland? 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 $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Cumberland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $72K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $183K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $72K 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 2,940 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Cumberland | Swaney Memorial Library | — | 40 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Knox Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Saline 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.
- System-wide. Swaney Memorial Library serves 4,190 people in and around New Cumberland, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just New Cumberland.
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 New Cumberland
Does New Cumberland have a public library?
Yes. Swaney Memorial Library, 210 S. Court Street, serves 4,190 people in and around New Cumberland (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Swaney Memorial 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 New Cumberland’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is New Cumberland’s civic life grade?
New Cumberland 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 New Cumberland.
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.