Photo: Ton2cats · CC BY-SA 3.0Deptford Township’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
James H. Johnson Memorial Library serves Deptford Township’s 31,977 residents. Last year it lent 73K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
The short version on Deptford Township’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, James H. Johnson Memorial Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people James H. Johnson Memorial Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 441 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.5 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 Deptford Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Deptford Township is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #345 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Deptford Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($69K–$115K) 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 →
110 community nonprofits are registered in Deptford Township
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (17 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.
6.6%
6.6% of Deptford 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 Deptford Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
James H. Johnson Memorial Library serves 31,977 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
73K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
24,613 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 Deptford Township last year.
Find it
James H. Johnson Memorial Library, 670 Ward Drive, Deptford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Deptford 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 $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Deptford Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $924K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $924K 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 5,915 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Deptford Township ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | Margaret E Heggan Public Library | 4.9 | 62 | C− |
| Wenonah | Wenonah Free Public Library | 3.3 | 38 | C+ |
| Deptford Township | James H. Johnson Memorial Library | 2.3 | 53 | C− |
| Woodbury | Woodbury Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 45 | C− |
| Gloucester Township | Gloucester Township Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | D |
| Runnemede | Runnemede Public Library | — | — | C |
| Bellmawr | Bellmawr Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | C |
| Mantua Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Sewell | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Woodbury Heights | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Glendora | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Deptford Township
Does Deptford Township have a public library?
Yes. James H. Johnson Memorial Library, 670 Ward Drive, serves Deptford Township’s 31,977 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is James H. Johnson Memorial 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 Deptford Township’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Deptford Township’s civic life grade?
C− Deptford Township is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #345 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 Deptford 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.