Photo: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domainCamden’s library logs 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Camden-Jackson Township Public Library serves 1,790 people in and around Camden. Last year it lent 3,766 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,067 visits.
Camden’s library, in brief
Camden-Jackson Township Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Camden-Jackson Township Public Library records 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
The Camden branch keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Camden-Jackson Township Public Library serves 1,790 people in and around Camden, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Camden’s civic life grade
Camden 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Camden-Jackson Township Public Library serves 1,790 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Camden-Jackson Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,766 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
920 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
37 programs a year
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.
Find it
Camden-Jackson Township Public Library, 183 West Main, Camden.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Camden-Jackson Township Public Library branch.
New in Camden? The Handbook →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 Camden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $76K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $60K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $76K 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 321 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Camden-Jackson Township Public Library serves 1,790 people in and around Camden, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Camden.
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 Camden
Does Camden have a public library?
Yes. Camden-Jackson Township Public Library, 183 West Main, serves 1,790 people in and around Camden (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Camden-Jackson Township Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Camden’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Camden’s civic life grade?
Camden 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 Camden.
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.