West Chester Public Library
West Chester Public Library serves 53,570 people in and around West Chester. Last year it lent 145K books, movies and e-books and logged 76K visits.
What West Chester’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 490 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, West Chester Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
40% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 44%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 60% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
West Chester Public Library spends $11 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; West Chester Public Library serves 53,570 people in and around West Chester, and its numbers cover all of them.
Every hour the doors are open, about 58 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Chester Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
West Chester Public Library serves 53,570 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
145K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
30,383 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Chester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $574K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $574K 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 13,265 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
West Chester Public Library, 415 North Church St., West Chester.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every West Chester Public Library branch.
New in West Chester? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Chester | West Chester Public Library | — | 48 |
| West Goshen | None of its own | — | — |
| East Bradford | None of its own | — | — |
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.
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.
- System-wide. West Chester Public Library serves 53,570 people in and around West Chester, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just West Chester.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in West Chester.
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.