Dusenberry House · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Chatham’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Chathams Joint Free Public Library serves Chatham’s 20,195 residents. Last year it lent 390K books, movies and e-books and logged 214K visits.
The short version on Chatham’s library
Chatham uses its library more than almost any town its size
Chathams Joint Free Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Chatham has a card
19,554 cards for 20,195 people, or 97%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Chathams Joint Free Public Library ran 1,152 programs last year, about 22 a week. That’s 57 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 38,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Chatham invests in its library
Chathams Joint Free Public Library spends $120 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 14% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Chatham’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chatham is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #20 of 466 in New Jersey. Chatham is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Chatham
4.7 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 (3 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.
14.5%
14.5% of Chatham’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 Chatham’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 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 Chatham last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Chathams Joint Free Public Library serves 20,195 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 128 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
390K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 136K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times last year, on average.
55,216 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Chatham Joint Free Public Library, 214 Main Street, Chatham.
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 Chatham? 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 $2.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chatham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 19,554 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Chatham ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millburn Township | Millburn Free Public Library fine-free | 19.7 | 63 | A− |
| Chatham | Chatham Joint Free Public Library fine-free | 19.3 | 59 | A |
| Summit | Summit Free Public Library fine-free | 13.2 | 64 | A |
| Florham Park | Florham Park Free Public Library | 12.1 | 61 | A− |
| Chatham Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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 Chatham
Does Chatham have a public library?
Yes. Chathams Joint Free Public Library, 214 Main Street, serves Chatham’s 20,195 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chathams Joint 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 Chatham’s library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 19.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Chatham’s civic life grade?
A Chatham is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Chatham.
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.