Elberon’s library runs 473 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Elberon Public Library serves Elberon’s 184 residents. Last year it logged 561 visits.
Elberon’s library, in brief
Open only about 9 hours a week
Elberon Public Library keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Eight times the programs of a typical library its size
Elberon Public Library ran 87 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 473 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 472 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Elberon Public Library serves 184 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 87 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 30 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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.
What’s behind Elberon’s civic life grade
Elberon isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Elberon Public Library serves 184 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Elberon Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: public computers. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Find it
Elberon Public Library, 106 Main St., Elberon.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elberon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $15K.
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 51 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: public computers. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Elberon
Does Elberon have a public library?
Yes. Elberon Public Library, 106 Main St., serves Elberon’s 184 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
How busy is Elberon’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elberon’s civic life grade?
Elberon isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Elberon.
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.