Princeton’s library lends 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Princeton Public Library serves Princeton’s 757 residents. Last year it lent 1,621 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,079 visits.
The short version on Princeton’s library
A small-town library
Princeton Public Library serves 757 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 ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Princeton Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Princeton’s civic life grade
Princeton 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Princeton Public Library serves 757 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,621 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
239 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
17 programs a year
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Princeton last year.
Find it
Princeton Public Library, 40 Main Street, Princeton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Princeton? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Princeton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $24K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $24K 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 524 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | Princeton Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 21 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Baileyville | Woodland Public Library fine-free | 0.8 | 20 | C− |
| Alexander | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. 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 Princeton
Does Princeton have a public library?
Yes. Princeton Public Library, 40 Main Street, serves Princeton’s 757 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Princeton 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 Princeton’s library?
It logged 2.7 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 Princeton’s civic life grade?
Princeton 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 Princeton.
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.