Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Alpha’s library runs 76 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
W.H. Walters Free Public Library serves Alpha’s 2,328 residents. Last year it lent 2,404 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,156 visits.
Alpha’s library, in brief
W.H. Walters Free Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
W.H. Walters Free Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $30 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
W.H. Walters Free Public Library serves 2,328 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. 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 ↓
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 Alpha’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Alpha is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Alpha’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
W.H. Walters Free Public Library spends $30 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($68K–$113K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Alpha
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Alpha’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.2% in the typical New Jersey town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Alpha’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
W.H. Walters Free Public Library serves 2,328 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,404 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
340 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, 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 Alpha last year.
Find it
W.H. Walters Free Public Library, 1001 East Blvd, Alpha.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Alpha? 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 Alpha cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $70K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $45K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $70K 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 750 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | W.H. Walters Free Public Library | 1.0 | 25 | D |
| Upper Pohatcong | Southwest Branch fine-free | — | 57 | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Alpha
Does Alpha have a public library?
Yes. W.H. Walters Free Public Library, 1001 East Blvd, serves Alpha’s 2,328 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is W.H. Walters Free 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 Alpha’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Alpha’s civic life grade?
D Alpha is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Alpha.
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.