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 4.0Atco’s library lends 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Waterford Township Public Library serves 10,421 people in and around Atco. Last year it lent 18K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
Atco’s library, in brief
Waterford Township Public Library serves more than Atco
The library’s service area covers 10,421 people in and around Atco, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 289 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 87 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Atco’s civic life grade
Atco 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Waterford Township Public Library serves 10,421 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
2,094 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.
Find it
Waterford Twsp. Pub Lib., 386 White Horse Pike, Atco.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Atco? 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 Atco cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $338K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $293K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $338K 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 3,875 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Atco ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | Marie Fleche Memorial Library fine-free | 2.0 | 47 | B |
| Atco | Waterford Twsp. Pub Lib. fine-free | 1.7 | 51 | — graded as part of its town |
| Waterford Township | Waterford Twsp. Pub Lib. fine-free | 1.7 | 51 | C+ |
| Medford Township | Pinelands Branch Library fine-free | — | 53 | A |
| Evesham Township | Evesham Branch Library fine-free | — | 56 | B− |
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 Atco
Does Atco have a public library?
Yes. Waterford Township Public Library, 386 White Horse Pike, serves 10,421 people in and around Atco (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waterford Township 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 Atco’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Atco’s civic life grade?
Atco 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 Atco.
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.