Photo: Dinker022089 · CC BY-SA 4.0Englewood’s library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Englewood Free Public Library serves Englewood’s 29,308 residents. Last year it lent 183K books, movies and e-books and logged 171K visits.
Englewood’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Englewood Free Public Library ran 1,323 programs last year, about 25 a week. That’s 45 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Englewood’s library lends 6.2 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Tenafly at 13. Libraries next door ↓
People come to Englewood Free Public Library a lot
Englewood Free Public Library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Federal money pays a real share
22% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
Englewood Free Public Library is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out. The building ↓
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 Englewood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Englewood is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #229 of 466 in New Jersey. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
128 community nonprofits are registered in Englewood
4.3 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 (52 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.2%
3.2% of Englewood’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 Englewood’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Englewood last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Englewood Free Public Library serves 29,308 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
183K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 89K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
24,542 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Englewood Library, 31 Engle Street, Englewood.
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 Englewood? 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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Englewood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 9,424 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Englewood ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenafly | Tenafly Free Public Library | 13.0 | 55 | B+ |
| Fort Lee | Fort Lee Free Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 63 | C |
| Leonia | Leonia Public Library | 8.1 | 51 | B− |
| Teaneck Township | Teaneck Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 68 | C+ |
| Englewood | Englewood Library fine-free | 6.2 | 64 | C+ |
| Englewood Cliffs | 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 Englewood
Does Englewood have a public library?
Yes. Englewood Free Public Library, 31 Engle Street, serves Englewood’s 29,308 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Englewood 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 Englewood’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Englewood’s civic life grade?
C+ Englewood is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #229 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 Englewood.
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.