Reformed Dutch Church of Second River · Photo: Jim.henderson · CC0Belleville Township’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Belleville Public Library serves Belleville Township’s 38,222 residents. Last year it lent 33K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
Belleville Township’s library, in brief
Belleville Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Belleville Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people Belleville Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. 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 Belleville Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Belleville Township has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Belleville Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in Belleville Township
1.7 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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.4%
3.4% of Belleville Township’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 Belleville Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Belleville Public Library serves 38,222 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
33K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
5,380 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 Belleville Township last year.
Find it
Belleville Free Public Library, 221 Washington Avenue, Belleville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Belleville Township? 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 Belleville Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $535K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 6,260 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Belleville Township ranks 6th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutley Township | Nutley Free Public Library | 7.1 | 60 | C |
| Bloomfield Township | Bloomfield Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | — | C− |
| Lyndhurst Township | Lyndhurst Free Public Library | 3.0 | — | C− |
| North Arlington | No. Arlington Public Library | 3.0 | 73 | D |
| Kearny | Kearny Public Library | 2.0 | 47 | D |
| Belleville Township | Belleville Free Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 52 | D− |
| Newark | Newark Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 58 | D− |
| Silver Lake | 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 Belleville Township
Does Belleville Township have a public library?
Yes. Belleville Public Library, 221 Washington Avenue, serves Belleville Township’s 38,222 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Belleville 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 Belleville Township’s library?
It logged 0.6 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 Belleville Township’s civic life grade?
D− Belleville Township has fewer library visits and community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Belleville Township.
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.