There are 30 public libraries in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The Delaware County Libraries is a federation of 26 library organizations, with 28 branches. [1] The law library in the county courthouse is not a member of the county system, but its holdings are listed in the system catalog. The Upper Chichester Library is located in the county but not part of the system.
The libraries in the county system are independent non-profit organizations which are funded by local municipalities, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the county system, and from donations. A library card from any library in the system is valid at all other libraries in the system and at most libraries in the state. [2] [1]
The county system serves 550,000 residents with a collection of 1,400,000 volumes. 2,150,000 items circulate per year. [3]
Name | Image | Founded | Built | Location | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aston Public Library | 1977 | c.1985 | 3270 Concord Road, Aston 39°52′03″N75°25′15″W / 39.8676°N 75.4209°W | In the community center | |
Collingdale Public Library | 823 MacDade Blvd. Collingdale 39°54′41″N75°16′43″W / 39.9115°N 75.2786°W | ||||
Darby Free Library | 1743 | 1872 | 1001 Main Street, Darby 39°55′13″N75°15′47″W / 39.9202°N 75.2631°W | Organized March 10, 1743 by 29 Quakers as a subscription library. First 45 books arrived from England on November 5, 1743, [4] In 1898 the library became free and open to the public. [5] [6] [7] | |
Folcroft Public Library | 1940 | 1973 | 1725 Delmar Drive, Folcroft 39°53′39″N75°16′44″W / 39.8941°N 75.2789°W | ||
Glenolden Library | 1894 | 1939 | 211 S. Llanwellyn Ave., Glenolden 39°54′00″N75°17′34″W / 39.8999°N 75.2927°W | ||
Haverford Township Free Library | 1934 | 1601 Darby Road, Havertown 39°58′53″N75°18′18″W / 39.9815°N 75.3049°W | |||
Helen Kate Furness Library | 1902 | 1916 | 100 N. Providence Road, Wallingford 39°54′16″N75°22′29″W / 39.9045°N 75.3748°W | Founded to honor Shakespearean scholar Horace Howard Furness. He later endowed the library with $5,000 on the condition that it be named for his wife. Located on his former estate Lindenshade. | |
J. Lewis Crozer Library | 1769 | 1877 (1st building) 1976 (current building) | 620 Engle Street, Chester 39°50′16″N75°23′15″W / 39.83783°N 75.3875°W | Founded February 14, 1769. Operated, with hiatuses during the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, until 1871 when it was reorganized. Renamed Crozer Library in 1925. The current building, a former branch, is in Veterans Memorial Park. [8] [9] | |
Judge Francis J. Catania Law Library – Delaware County Courthouse | 1851 | 1933 (4th floor of courthouse) | 201 West Front Street, Media 39°55′11″N75°23′30″W / 39.9197°N 75.3917°W | In the courthouse and open to the public, but very limited circulation | |
Lansdowne Public Library | 1898 | 1982 | 55 S. Lansdowne Ave., Lansdowne, 39°56′11″N75°16′18″W / 39.9365°N 75.2716°W | ||
Marple Public Library | 2599 Sproul Rd., Broomall 39°58′29″N75°21′48″W / 39.9747°N 75.3633°W | In the municipal building | |||
Mary M. Campbell Marcus Hook Public Library | 10th & Green, Marcus Hook 39°49′10″N75°25′07″W / 39.8194°N 75.4187°W | In the borough hall | |||
Media-Upper Providence Free Library | 1901 | 2016 | 1 E. Front Street, Media 39°55′08″N75°23′20″W / 39.9190°N 75.3889°W | ||
Middletown Free Library | 1956 | 21 N. Pennell Road, Lima 39°54′49″N75°26′21″W / 39.9137°N 75.4393°W | |||
Newtown Public Library | 1974 | 2003 | 201 Bishop Hollow Rd., Newtown Square 39°58′50″N75°24′28″W / 39.9806°N 75.4079°W | Adjoins the township office | |
Norwood Public Library | 1925 | 1951 | 513 Welcome Ave., Norwood 39°53′27″N75°18′07″W / 39.8909°N 75.3019°W | ||
Prospect Park Free Library | 1923 | 720 Maryland Ave., Prospect Park 39°53′17″N75°18′30″W / 39.8881°N 75.3084°W | |||
Rachel Kohl Community Library | 1979 | 1989 | 687 Smithbridge Road, Glen Mills 39°52′02″N75°30′48″W / 39.8673°N 75.5133°W | ||
Radnor Memorial Library | 1940 | 1980 | 167 W. Lancaster Ave., Wayne 40°02′34″N75°23′20″W / 40.0429°N 75.3890°W | ||
Ridley Park Public Library | 1888 [10] | 1912 | 107 East Ward Street, Ridley Park 39°52′51″N75°19′24″W / 39.8808°N 75.3232°W | A Carnegie Library | |
Ridley Township Public Library | 1957 | 1971 | 100 East MacDade Blvd., Folsom 39°53′10″N75°19′45″W / 39.8862°N 75.3291°W | In the Municipal Building | |
Sharon Hill | 246 Sharon Ave., Sharon Hill 39°54′24″N75°16′21″W / 39.9067°N 75.2724°W | ||||
Springfield Township Library | 70 Powell Road, Springfield 39°55′51″N75°19′48″W / 39.9307°N 75.3299°W | Next to the Municipal Building | |||
Swarthmore Public Library | 1929 | 1951 | 121 Park Avenue, Swarthmore 39°54′05″N75°20′54″W / 39.9015°N 75.3484°W | In the municipal building | |
Tinicum Memorial Public Library | 620 Seneca St., Essington 39°52′07″N75°17′36″W / 39.8686°N 75.2932°W | ||||
Upper Chichester Library | 2001 | 3374 Chichester Ave. #19, Boothwyn 39°50′13″N75°26′35″W / 39.8369°N 75.4430°W | Small township-supported library in a shopping mall across from Chichester High School. Not part of the County Library system [11] | ||
Upper Darby Township/Sellers Library – Main Sellers Branch | 1931 | 1975 | 76 South State Rd., Upper Darby 39°57′44″N75°16′24″W / 39.9623°N 75.2733°W | Sellers library founded in 1934 and merged with the municipal library in 1935. Sellers moved into the historic Hoodland house in 1935, with a large modern style building built and connected to the house in 1975. [12] | |
Upper Darby Township/Sellers Library – Municipal Branch | 501 Bywood Ave., Upper Darby 39°57′33″N75°15′59″W / 39.9592°N 75.2665°W | ||||
Upper Darby Township/Sellers Library – Primos Branch | 409 Ashland Ave., Primos 39°55′07″N75°18′18″W / 39.9186°N 75.3051°W | ||||
Yeadon Public Library | 809 Longacre Blvd., Yeadon 39°56′10″N75°15′04″W / 39.9362°N 75.2511°W | ||||
Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the fifth-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the third-smallest in area. The county was created on September 26, 1789, from part of Chester County and named for the Delaware River.
Bethel Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It contains the two unincorporated communities of Booth's Corner and Chelsea. The population was 8,791 at the 2010 census.
Chester Heights is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,531 at the 2010 census. Most of the borough lies south of U.S. 1, about a mile southwest of Wawa.
Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, an increase over 28,043 in 2010, and accounting for over one-third of Upper Darby's population.
Lower Chichester Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,469 at the 2010 census. It contains the census designated place of Linwood.
MillbourneBorough is a self-governing municipal borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population is 1,212. Millbourne borders Philadelphia along Cobbs Creek. The name "Millbourne" comes from the word Mill and "bourne" meaning creek. Millbourne, at over 17,000 people per square mile, is the most densely populated incorporated place in Pennsylvania, and 24th in the entire United States.
Upland is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Upland is governed by an elected seven-member borough council. The population was 3,239 at the 2010 census, up from 2,974 at the 2000 census.
Upper Chichester Township is a civil township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,738 at the 2010 census.
Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total population of 85,681, making it the state's sixth most populated municipality after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Reading, and Erie. Upper Darby borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city, and it is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area, the nation's seventh-largest metropolitan area.
Chester Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,940 at the 2010 census, down from 4,604 at the 2000 census.
Darby Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,264 as of the 2010 census. It is home to both residential areas and expansive industrial districts. Darby Township is home to a diverse population and its industrial districts are popular among shipping companies for their proximity to Philadelphia International Airport. It also is known for being made up of two non-contiguous geographical areas, requiring one to pass through at least two neighboring municipalities to make it from one end of Darby Township to the other. Darby Township is a distinct municipality from the nearby and similarly named Darby Borough and Upper Darby Township.
The Caleb Pusey House, built in 1683 in Upland, Pennsylvania in the United States, is the second oldest English house in Pennsylvania that is open to the public. Designed in a vernacular, English, yeoman's style, it is the only remaining house that William Penn is known to have visited. It stood on 100 acres (0.40 km2) near Chester Creek, which Penn granted to Pusey, a plantation which the latter named "Landing Ford."
Upper Darby High School (UDHS) is a four-year public high school located in Upper Darby Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Upper Darby School District. Established in 1895, it is the oldest high school in Delaware County.
The Crozer Theological Seminary was a Baptist seminary located in Upland, Pennsylvania.
Elwyn Inc. is a multi-state nonprofit organization based in Elwyn, Pennsylvania, in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania providing services for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and behavioral health challenges. Established in 1852, it provides education, rehabilitation, employment options, child welfare services, assisted living, respite care, campus and community therapeutic residential programs, and other support for daily living. Elwyn has operations in 8 states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and North Carolina.
Stephen "Steve" Barrar is an American politician from Darby, Pennsylvania. He has served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 160th District from 1997 to 2020.
Crozer Health is a four-hospital health system based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and serving Delaware County; northern Delaware and parts of western New Jersey.
John Price Crozer was an American textile manufacturer, banker, president of the board of directors of the American Baptist Publication Society, and philanthropist from Pennsylvania. His mills produced clothing for the US Army and other customers.
Darby Free Library is a public library at 1001 Main Street in Darby Borough, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Founded as the Darby Library Company in 1743 – just 12 years after Benjamin Franklin organized the Library Company of Philadelphia – it remains one of the oldest libraries in the United States. Although it was a subscription library until 1898, it claims to be "the oldest library in the United States in continuous service." The library celebrated its 275th anniversary in 2018.
The J. Lewis Crozer Library is a public library located at 620 Engle Street in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1769 and is the third library established in Pennsylvania. It was named the Chester Library Company in 1830 and reincorporated in 1879 as the Chester Free Library. In 1925, the library was renamed the J. Lewis Crozer Library in recognition of a $250,000 gift bequeathed to the library by the wealthy philanthropist. The library occupied several buildings over the years including the Deshong Art Museum from 1961 to 1977. The current library building was built in 1976 as a neighborhood branch and became the main library in 1978.