Hershey Public Library

Public Library Serviceshersheylibrary.org

Hershey Public Library is a municipal public library serving Derry Township, Pennsylvania residents with free access to physical and digital collections, educational programs, community spaces, and interlibrary loan services, funded by township taxes and a 1985 endowment trust.

Company typePrivate
Founded1985
HeadquartersHershey, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What Hershey Public Library does

Hershey Public Library is a municipal public library established in 1913 and operated by Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It serves as the primary tax-funded library for township residents, offering free access to physical and digital collections, educational programs for all ages, community gathering spaces, and interlibrary loan services. The library is governed by a Library Board under Derry Township administration and is supported by a long-standing endowment trust established in 1985. Its current physical facility at 701 Cocoa Ave opened in 1997 and has been incrementally enhanced with endowment-funded additions including a teen area, story time area, reading garden, and improved checkout area. Operating hours run Monday through Saturday with extended evening hours on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The library's core product surface consists of catalog search and account management (via the Polaris library management system), an e-Library of digital resources including e-books, e-audiobooks, and databases such as Consumer Reports through EBSCOhost, a Summer Reading program managed through Beanstack, the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten early literacy initiative, automatic renewals, and interlibrary loan. A 24/7 outdoor book locker launched in November 2023 extends self-service holds pickup beyond operating hours, partially funded by ARPA grants administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Specialty collections include Pennsylvania-focused material, a Palliative Care Collection, and World Languages offerings. Educational partnerships include the Postpartum Breastfeeding Support Group hosted jointly with Penn State Hershey Medical Center, and the library participates in consortium-level access through the CLIC Polaris network.

The library operates a non-commercial, tax-funded model in which all core services are provided free of charge to patrons, with operating revenue derived from Derry Township municipal appropriations, Pennsylvania state library aid, and endowment distributions managed by Bryn Mawr Trust Company. Distribution occurs through a single physical location, online catalog access, outdoor self-service pickup, and interlibrary loan. There are no AI capabilities, no commercial APIs, and no mobile applications; technology adoption is limited to standard third-party SaaS platforms used across the U.S. public library sector. Donor engagement is supported through the Tribute Book Program and the Hershey Library Endowment Trust, with Friends of the Hershey Public Library coordinating community fundraising. The library is currently led by Director Alison Jacobine and operates with 11-50 staff.

Hershey Public Library firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Hershey Public Library
Legal name: Hershey Public Library
Website: https://hersheylibrary.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1985
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Hershey Public Library is a municipal public library serving Derry Township, Pennsylvania residents with free access to physical and digital collections, educational programs, community spaces, and interlibrary loan services, funded by township taxes and a 1985 endowment trust.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Hershey Public Library industry classification

Industry

Product category: Public Library Services
NAICS: Libraries and Archives (51921)
akta.pro primary industry: Public Libraries & Information Services (BPAIACAO)

Keywords

Public library services
Community programming
Digital library resources
Interlibrary loan
Early literacy programs

Where Hershey Public Library is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Hershey
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Hershey Public Library business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Hershey Public Library product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Hershey Public Library is a free municipal public library that lends physical and digital books and media, provides e-resources and research databases, hosts educational and cultural programs for all ages, and operates as a community gathering space for Derry Township residents. Its offering is delivered through a physical location at 701 Cocoa Ave in Hershey, PA, an online Polaris catalog for account management, an outdoor book locker for 24/7 holds pickup, and interlibrary loan services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Hershey Library Endowment Trust: A fund established in 1985 to support the library's long-term funding and enhancements.

Products and services

Outdoor Book Locker
e-Library / Digital Resources
Summer Reading Program
1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Interlibrary Loan
Meeting Room Rentals
Tribute Book Program
Hershey Library Endowment Trust
Tutor.com Online Tutoring

Companies that use Hershey Public Library

Customer profile

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Hershey Public Library technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Hershey Public Library partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

Derry TownshipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDerry Township is the parent municipality that funds and governs the Hershey Public Library. The library operates as a municipal service under Derry Township administration, with the Library Board overseeing operations. The township mailing address is [email protected].
Friends of the Hershey Public LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded the Hershey Library Endowment Trust in 1985 and continues to appoint Endowment Trustees annually. Acts as settlor to the Agreement of Trust establishing the Endowment. Supports library fundraising and community engagement.
Penn State Hershey Medical CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with the library to host the Postpartum Breastfeeding Support Group, which holds regular meetings at the library. This program provides nutritional information and open discussion on breastfeeding for new mothers.

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Hershey Public Library competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Hummelstown Public Library: A small public library serving Hummelstown, PA in Dauphin County — adjacent to Hershey. Operates as a municipal library with comparable collections, programming, and community hub functions for a similar mid-size Pennsylvania community.
Middletown Area Public Library: Public library serving Middletown, PA in Dauphin County. Comparable in scale and service mix to Hershey Public Library, with similar municipal funding model and patron demographics in the Harrisburg metro.
Palmyra Public Library: Public library serving Palmyra, PA in Lebanon County. Similar small-to-mid-size Pennsylvania public library with comparable municipal funding, programming scope, and community role.
Lebanon Community Library: Public library serving Lebanon, PA. Comparable in mission and structure to Hershey Public Library, with similar municipal governance, collection development, and programming offerings.
Elizabethtown Public Library: Public library serving Elizabethtown, PA in Lancaster County. Similar mid-size PA public library with comparable municipal funding, collection scope, and community programming for a college-town-adjacent population.
New Cumberland Public Library: Public library serving New Cumberland, PA in Cumberland County, near the Harrisburg metro. Comparable small-to-mid-size PA public library with similar services, hours, and patron base.

Regional players

Dauphin County Library System: County-wide library system serving Dauphin County, where Hershey is located. Overlaps geographically with Hershey Public Library's service area and serves as a regional coordination layer for library services in the county.
Cumberland County Library System: County-wide library system serving neighboring Cumberland County, PA. Comparable regional library infrastructure with shared ILS and consortia lending arrangements relevant to Hershey Public Library.

Broad incumbents

Free Library of Philadelphia: Largest public library system in Pennsylvania. While much larger and urban-focused, it shares the same Pennsylvania public library context, state aid framework, and municipal funding model — useful as a scale benchmark for Hershey.

Others

Friends of the Hershey Public Library: Affiliated 501(c)(3) fundraising/membership organization that supports Hershey Public Library and acts as settlor of the 1985 Endowment Trust. Not a competitor — an enabling/support organization tightly coupled to the subject.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Hershey Public Library compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance2 records

Hershey Public Library financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Hershey Public Library leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Hershey Public Library funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Hershey Public Library M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hershey Public Library

What does Hershey Public Library do?

Is Hershey Public Library a public or private company?

Hershey Public Library is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.

When was Hershey Public Library founded?

Hershey Public Library was founded in 1985. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Hershey Public Library based?

Hershey Public Library is headquartered in Hershey, United States, in the North America region.

Who are Hershey Public Library's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Hummelstown Public Library, Middletown Area Public Library, Palmyra Public Library, Lebanon Community Library, Elizabethtown Public Library and New Cumberland Public Library. Regional players are Dauphin County Library System and Cumberland County Library System. Free Library of Philadelphia is listed as a broad incumbent. Friends of the Hershey Public Library is listed as an others.

Does Hershey Public Library have an API?

No public API is recorded for Hershey Public Library.

What industry is Hershey Public Library in?

Hershey Public Library's product category is Public Library Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIACAO, Public Libraries & Information Services. Its NAICS code is 51921.