Fords’ library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Woodbridge Public Library serves 103,639 people in and around Fords. Last year it lent 375K books, movies and e-books and logged 245K visits.
The short version on Fords’s library
Woodbridge Public Library serves more than Fords
The library’s service area covers 103,639 people in and around Fords, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 57% of similar-size libraries. 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 Fords’ civic life grade
Fords 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 →
About 24 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Woodbridge Public Library serves 103,639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 42 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
375K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 362K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
64,647 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Fords Branch, 211 Ford Avenue, Fords.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fords? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fords cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.3M 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 23,766 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Fords ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edison Township | Edison Twsp. Free Public Lib fine-free | 5.6 | 68 | C− |
| Fords | Fords Branch | 3.6 | 52 | — graded as part of its town |
| Woodbridge Township | Woodbridge Public Library | 3.6 | 68 | D |
| Keasbey | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Hopelawn | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Menlo Park Terrace | 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 Fords
Does Fords have a public library?
Yes. Woodbridge Public Library, 211 Ford Avenue, serves 103,639 people in and around Fords (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Woodbridge Public 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 Fords’ library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Fords’ civic life grade?
Fords 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 Fords.
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.