Photo: KForce at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Bogota’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Bogota Public Library serves Bogota’s 8,778 residents. Last year it lent 63K books, movies and e-books and logged 119K visits.
The short version on Bogota’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Bogota last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for library use
Bogota ranks #8 of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 14 visits per resident, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Bogota out-borrows every town next door
At 7.2 loans per resident, Bogota leads the four towns here. The closest is Teaneck Township, at 7.1. Libraries next door ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 440 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.9 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Bogota’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bogota is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #276 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 ($77K–$129K) 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Bogota
2.1 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.4%
4.4% of Bogota’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 Bogota’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bogota Public Library serves 8,778 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
63K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
6,244 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Bogota last year.
Find it
Bogota Public Library, 375 Larch Avenue, Bogota.
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 Bogota? 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 $2.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bogota cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $429K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $969K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $429K 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 3,672 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bogota borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bogota | Bogota Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 53 | C+ |
| Teaneck Township | Teaneck Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 68 | C+ |
| Ridgefield Park | Ridgefield Park Pub. Lib. | 4.8 | 54 | C |
| Hackensack | Johnson Free Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 64 | 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.
- 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 Bogota
Does Bogota have a public library?
Yes. Bogota Public Library, 375 Larch Avenue, serves Bogota’s 8,778 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bogota 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 Bogota’s library?
It logged 13.6 visits and lent 7.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bogota’s civic life grade?
C+ Bogota is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #276 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 Bogota.
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.