Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0Gillette’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Long Hill Township Free Public Library serves 8,629 people in and around Gillette. Last year it lent 113K books, movies and e-books and logged 118K visits.
Gillette’s library, in brief
Gillette uses its library more than almost any town its size
Long Hill Township Free Public Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.4 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Long Hill Township Free Public Library ran 1,044 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 121 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 18,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 28% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Long Hill Township Free Public Library serves more than Gillette
The library’s service area covers 8,629 people in and around Gillette, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 Gillette’s civic life grade
Gillette 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Long Hill Township Free Public Library serves 8,629 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
113K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
31,109 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Long Hill Township Free Public Library, 917 Valley Road, Stirling.
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 Gillette? 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 $2.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gillette cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $772K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $772K 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 4,607 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Gillette 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillette | Long Hill Township Free Public Library fine-free | 13.1 | 48 | — graded as part of its town |
| Long Hill Township | Long Hill Township Free Public Library fine-free | 13.1 | 48 | A |
| Berkeley Heights Township | Berkeley Heights Free Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 67 | B+ |
| Warren Township | Warren Township Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | B |
| Stirling | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Chatham Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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 Gillette
Does Gillette have a public library?
Yes. Long Hill Township Free Public Library, 917 Valley Road, serves 8,629 people in and around Gillette (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Long Hill Township 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 Gillette’s library?
It logged 13.7 visits and lent 13.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gillette’s civic life grade?
Gillette 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 Gillette.
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.