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Library · Willow Grove

Upper Moreland Free Public Library

Upper Moreland Free Public Library serves 26,116 people in and around Willow Grove. Last year it lent 203K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.

109 Park Avenue, Willow Grove 19090 · about 54 hours a week
Photo: Dhsifhdbfidhxuf
Borrowed a year
203K
7.8 per resident
Visits a year
38K
1.4 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
398
about 8 a week · 5,969 attended
Cardholders
40%
10,446 cards
Open
54 hrs
a week

What stands out about Upper Moreland Free Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.75 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Willow Grove cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$42 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.

Local taxes 85%State 9%Federal 0%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 10,446 cardholders ÷ 12.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 73 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

38K
visits
1.4 per resident
203K
loans, print + digital
7.8 per resident
398
programs & events
5,969 attended
10K
library cards
40% of people served
Every open hour73items borrowed
Every week115people at a program
Every week724visits
12 staff (full-time equivalent)13 public computers64K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Strongest at borrowing per resident

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.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 79%
Borrowing per resident 6.6 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 75%
Digital borrowing 1.2 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 50%
Kids’ borrowing 3.5 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 79%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 67%
Programs offered 15.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 53%
Cardholders 40% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 51%
Spending $42 per resident · typical $40Higher than 52%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Pennsylvania
#307 of 440

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Upper Moreland Free Public Library serves 26,116 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

203K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

203Kloans
Books & media (adults) 40%Kids’ books & media 45%E-books, audio & streaming 15%
How hard the shelves work
2.7×

Each of the 64K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.

From your couch

31,133 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 3 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Willow Grove →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–581
Ages 6–1150
Teens42
Adults148
All ages77
Little ones
1.6

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

91K
kids’ books & media borrowed
5,969
people at programs
398
programs
The building

Find it

Upper Moreland Free Public Library, 109 Park Avenue, Willow Grove.

54
hours open a week
14,500
square feet
64K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Willow Grove? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
Upper DublinUpper Dublin Public Library fine-free15.763
Willow GroveUpper Moreland Free Public Library fine-free7.854
AbingtonAbington Township Public Library fine-free—61

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.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Willow Grove.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Upper Moreland Free Public Library one of the best things about Willow Grove?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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