Richmond Township Library
Richmond Township Library serves 806 people in and around Palmer. Last year it lent 1,382 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,385 visits.
Palmer’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Richmond Township Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Richmond Township Library serves 806 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 27 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 ↓
Richmond Township Library serves more than Palmer
The library’s service area covers 806 people in and around Palmer, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Close to typical for its size
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Richmond Township Library serves 806 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
1,382 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
24 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palmer cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $41K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $41K 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 389 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Richmond Township Library, 304 Snyder Street, Palmer.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Palmer? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- 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.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Palmer.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.