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 4.0Carlstadt’s library runs 79 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
William E. Dermody Free Public Library serves Carlstadt’s 6,372 residents. Last year it lent 46K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
Carlstadt’s library, in brief
Carlstadt out-borrows every town next door
At 7.2 loans per resident, Carlstadt leads the six towns here. The closest is Wood-Ridge, at 6.2. Libraries next door ↓
Carlstadt invests in its library
William E. Dermody Free Public Library spends $153 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Carlstadt’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Carlstadt is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #265 of 466 in New Jersey. Carlstadt’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($87K–$144K) 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Carlstadt
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.5%
5.5% of Carlstadt’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 Carlstadt’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carlstadt cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $975K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $796K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $975K 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 2,504 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
William E. Dermody Free Public Library serves 6,372 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
46K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
7,082 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Carlstadt last year.
Find it
William E. Dermody Public Library, 420 Hackensack Street, Carlstadt.
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 Carlstadt? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Carlstadt borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlstadt | William E. Dermody Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 50 | C+ |
| Wood-Ridge | Wood-Ridge Memorial Library fine-free | 6.2 | 52 | C |
| East Rutherford | East Rutherford Memorial Library | 4.6 | 52 | D |
| Secaucus | Secaucus Free Public Library | 4.5 | 71 | C− |
| Ridgefield | Ridgefield Free Pub. Lib. fine-free | 4.4 | — | D |
| North Bergen Township | North Bergen Public Library | 1.9 | 63 | D− |
| Moonachie | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| South Hackensack Township | None of its own | — | — | 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 Carlstadt
Does Carlstadt have a public library?
Yes. William E. Dermody Free Public Library, 420 Hackensack Street, serves Carlstadt’s 6,372 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is William E. Dermody 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 Carlstadt’s library?
It logged 3.5 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 Carlstadt’s civic life grade?
C+ Carlstadt is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #265 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 Carlstadt.
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.