Princeton’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Mercer County Library serves 3,538 people in and around Princeton. Last year it lent 8,271 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,432 visits.
The short version on Princeton’s library
Mercer County Library is used less than most libraries its size
Mercer County Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 139 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 46 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; Mercer County Library serves 3,538 people in and around Princeton, and its numbers cover all of them.
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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mercer County Library serves 3,538 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mercer County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
8,271 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,613 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs 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.
Find it
Mercer County Library, 601 W Grant St., Princeton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mercer County Library branch.
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 $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Princeton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $139K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $153K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $139K 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 1,265 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mercer County Library serves 3,538 people in and around Princeton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Princeton.
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. Mercer County Library, 601 W Grant St., serves 3,538 people in and around Princeton (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mercer County 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 1.3 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 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.