Photo: Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5Franklin Township’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset serves Franklin Township’s 68,364 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 325K books, movies and e-books and logged 75K visits.
The short version on Franklin Township’s library
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 ↓
Three places to borrow in Franklin Township
Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Franklin Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Franklin Township is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #375 of 466 in New Jersey. Franklin Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($93K–$156K) 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 →
270 community nonprofits are registered in Franklin Township
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (72 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 30 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.8%
4.8% of Franklin 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 Franklin Township’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Franklin Township last year.
3 places to borrow in Franklin Township
Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset, 485 Demott Lane, Somerset.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Franklin Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Franklin Township
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 Franklin Township 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
Franklin Township ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Brunswick Township | So. Brunswick Pub. Lib. | 8.2 | 83 | C+ |
| Franklin Township | Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset | 4.8 | 61 | D |
| East Franklin | Lewis Street Branch | 4.8 | 26 | — graded as part of its town |
| New Brunswick | New Brunswick Free Pub. Lib. | 0.7 | 58 | D |
| Montgomery Township | Montgomery Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | A |
| Hillsborough Township | Hillsborough Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | B− |
| East Rocky Hill | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Griggstown | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Weston | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Kingston | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Somerset | 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 Franklin Township
Does Franklin Township have a public library?
Yes. Franklin Twp Public Library/Somerset, 485 Demott Lane, serves Franklin Township’s 68,364 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 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 Franklin Township’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 Franklin Township’s civic life grade?
D Franklin Township is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #375 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 Franklin 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.