Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Chester’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Chester Library serves Chester’s 9,394 residents. Last year it lent 118K books, movies and e-books and logged 74K visits.
Chester’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 171 items per child in Chester last year. Kids & programs ↓
Chester uses its library more than almost any town its size
Chester Library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
73% of the 509 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 117 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 Chester’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chester is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Chester is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Chester’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Chester
7.6 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.4%
11.4% of Chester’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 Chester’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Chester last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Chester Library serves 9,394 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
118K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 64K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
22,812 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Chester Library, 250 West Main Street, Chester.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chester? 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 $2.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $746K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $746K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 7,699 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Chester
Does Chester have a public library?
Yes. Chester Library, 250 West Main Street, serves Chester’s 9,394 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chester Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chester’s library?
It logged 7.8 visits and lent 12.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chester’s civic life grade?
A+ Chester is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Chester.
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.