Photo: Al Hart · Public domainLinden’s library runs 148 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Linden Carnegie Public Library serves 1,192 people in and around Linden. Last year it lent 9,580 print books and media and logged 3,200 visits.
What stands out about Linden Carnegie Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Linden’s civic life grade
Linden 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, 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Linden Carnegie Public Library serves 1,192 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Linden Carnegie Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
9,580 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Linden Carnegie Public Library, 102 South Main Street, Linden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Linden Carnegie Public Library branch.
New in Linden? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Linden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $136K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $160K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $136K 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 400 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Linden Carnegie Public Library serves 1,192 people in and around Linden, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Linden.
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 Linden
Does Linden have a public library?
Yes. Linden Carnegie Public Library, 102 South Main Street, serves 1,192 people in and around Linden (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Linden Carnegie Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Linden’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 8.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Linden’s civic life grade?
Linden 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 Linden.
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.