Photo: Jim.henderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Cedar Grove Township’s library runs 56 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Cedar Grove Free Public Library serves Cedar Grove Township’s 12,980 residents. Last year it lent 89K books, movies and e-books and logged 39K visits.
What Cedar Grove Township’s library is like
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Cedar Grove Free Public Library ran 727 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 56 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
65% of the 727 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 256 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 Cedar Grove Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cedar Grove Township is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #266 of 466 in New Jersey. Cedar Grove Township’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 ($113K–$189K) 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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Cedar Grove Township
4.1 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Cedar Grove 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 Cedar Grove Township’s residents live; 2022.
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 Cedar Grove Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Cedar Grove Free Public Library serves 12,980 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
21,029 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Cedar Grove Free Public Library, One Municipal Plaza, Cedar Grove.
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 Cedar Grove Township? 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 $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cedar Grove Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $945K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $945K 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 3,505 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cedar Grove Township ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montclair Township | Montclair Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 52 | A |
| Upper Montclair | Bellevue Ave. Branch Lib. fine-free | 9.4 | 30 | — graded as part of its town |
| Verona Township | Verona Free Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 51 | A |
| Cedar Grove Township | Cedar Grove Free Public Library fine-free | 6.9 | 50 | C+ |
| Little Falls Township | Little Falls Public Library fine-free | 5.5 | 52 | C− |
| North Caldwell | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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 Cedar Grove Township
Does Cedar Grove Township have a public library?
Yes. Cedar Grove Free Public Library, One Municipal Plaza, serves Cedar Grove Township’s 12,980 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cedar Grove 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 Cedar Grove Township’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 6.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Cedar Grove Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Cedar Grove Township is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #266 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 Cedar Grove 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.