East Franklin’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset serves 68,364 people in and around East Franklin. Last year it lent 325K books, movies and e-books and logged 75K visits.
What East Franklin’s library is like
Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset serves more than East Franklin
The library’s service area covers 68,364 people in and around East Franklin, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 3.6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 East Franklin’s civic life grade
East Franklin isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset serves 68,364 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 48 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
325K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
80,334 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 13 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.
Find it
Lewis Street Branch, 429 Lewis Street, Somerset.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in East Franklin? 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 $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Franklin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 24,935 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Franklin borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Franklin | Lewis Street Branch | 4.8 | 26 | — graded as part of its town |
| Franklin Township | Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset | 4.8 | 61 | D |
| New Brunswick | New Brunswick Free Pub. Lib. | 0.7 | 58 | D |
| Somerset | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Voorhees | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 East Franklin
Does East Franklin have a public library?
Yes. Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset, 429 Lewis Street, serves 68,364 people in and around East Franklin (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset 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 East Franklin’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is East Franklin’s civic life grade?
East Franklin isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in East Franklin.
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.