Photo: KForce at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Freehold’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Freehold Public Library serves Freehold’s 12,538 residents. Last year it logged 9,146 visits.
What stands out about Freehold’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Freehold’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Freehold is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #363 of 466 in New Jersey. Freehold’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Freehold
3.8 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 (6 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.
6.0%
6.0% of Freehold’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 Freehold’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Freehold Public Library serves 12,538 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at Freehold Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 2,230 items borrowed against 9,146 visits, so we leave the count out.
About 2 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
Freehold Public Library, 28 1/2 E. Main Street, Freehold.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Freehold? 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 Freehold cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $366K.
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 7,992 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it 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 Freehold
Does Freehold have a public library?
Yes. Freehold Public Library, 28 1/2 E. Main Street, serves Freehold’s 12,538 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Freehold 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 Freehold’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Freehold’s civic life grade?
C− Freehold is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #363 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 Freehold.
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.