Basking Ridge’s library runs 37 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Bernards Township Library serves 27,830 people in and around Basking Ridge. Last year it lent 352K books, movies and e-books and logged 148K visits.
The short version on Basking Ridge’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Basking Ridge uses its library more than almost any town its size
Bernards Township Library logs 5.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Bernards Township Library ran 1,016 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 37 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 31,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Bernards Township Library serves more than Basking Ridge
The library’s service area covers 27,830 people in and around Basking Ridge, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Basking Ridge’s civic life grade
Basking Ridge 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 →
About 8 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bernards Township Library serves 27,830 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 125 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
352K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 121K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
93,504 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bernards Towhship Library, 32 South Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Basking Ridge? 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 $2.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Basking Ridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 12,458 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Basking Ridge ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernardsville | Bernardsville Public Library | 15.7 | 51 | A |
| Basking Ridge | Bernards Towhship Library | 12.6 | 54 | — graded as part of its town |
| Bernards Township | Bernards Towhship Library | 12.6 | 54 | B+ |
| Harding Township | Harding Township Library | 6.5 | 38 | B− |
| Lyons | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Liberty Corner | None of its own | — | — | — 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 Basking Ridge
Does Basking Ridge have a public library?
Yes. Bernards Township Library, 32 South Maple Avenue, serves 27,830 people in and around Basking Ridge (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bernards Township 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 Basking Ridge’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 12.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Basking Ridge’s civic life grade?
Basking Ridge 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 Basking Ridge.
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.