Photo: Tim Kiser (w:user:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Thomas’ library runs 72 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Mountaintop Public Library serves 2,908 people in and around Thomas. Last year it lent 7,214 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,743 visits.
The short version on Thomas’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 33%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 210 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Mountaintop Public Library serves 2,908 people in and around Thomas, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Thomas’ civic life grade
Thomas 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 →
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.
Mountaintop Public Library serves 2,908 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 Mountaintop Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,214 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Thomas’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
2,267 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Mountaintop Public Library, 384 2nd Street, Thomas.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mountaintop Public Library branch.
New in Thomas? 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 $2.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thomas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $57K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $133K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $57K 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 1,489 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mountaintop Public Library serves 2,908 people in and around Thomas, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Thomas.
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 Thomas
Does Thomas have a public library?
Yes. Mountaintop Public Library, 384 2nd Street, serves 2,908 people in and around Thomas (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mountaintop Public 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 Thomas’ library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Thomas’ civic life grade?
Thomas 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 Thomas.
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.