Atlantic City Convention Hall · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainAtlantic City’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Atlantic City Free Public Library serves Atlantic City’s 38,497 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 209K visits.
Atlantic City’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 90% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 7%. The building also logs about 34 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
80% of the 1,146 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 170 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 Atlantic City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Atlantic City is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #308 of 466 in New Jersey. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$51K) 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 →
119 community nonprofits are registered in Atlantic City
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (36 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.5%
2.5% of Atlantic City’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 Atlantic City’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Atlantic City Free Public Library serves 38,497 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,916 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Atlantic City last year.
2 places to borrow in Atlantic City
Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 North Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Atlantic City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Atlantic City
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Atlantic City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $660K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 8,656 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic City | Atlantic City Free Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 51 | C |
| Pleasantville | Pleasantville Branch | — | 56 | D |
| Galloway Township | Galloway Township Branch Library | — | 56 | C |
| Absecon | Absecon Public Library | — | 46 | B− |
| Ventnor City | Ventnor Community Library | — | 56 | C− |
| Egg Harbor Township | Egg Harbor Township Branch | — | 56 | C |
| Brigantine | Brigantine Branch Library | — | 52 | C+ |
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 Atlantic City
Does Atlantic City have a public library?
Yes. Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 North Tennessee Ave., serves Atlantic City’s 38,497 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Atlantic City Free 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 Atlantic City’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Atlantic City’s civic life grade?
C Atlantic City is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #308 of 466 in New Jersey. 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 Atlantic City.
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.