Photo: Wtz · CC BY-SA 4.0Guttenberg’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
North Bergen Free Public Library serves 63,361 people in and around Guttenberg. Last year it lent 118K books, movies and e-books and logged 87K visits.
The short version on Guttenberg’s library
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
North Bergen Free Public Library ran 4,402 programs last year, about 85 a week. That’s 69 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
North Bergen Free Public Library serves more than Guttenberg
The library’s service area covers 63,361 people in and around Guttenberg, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
84% of Guttenberg carry a library card
53,476 cards for 63,361 people, or 84%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. 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 Guttenberg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Guttenberg has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Guttenberg is graded on two of the three inputs. Guttenberg’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$95K) 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Guttenberg
0.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.5%
2.5% of Guttenberg’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 Guttenberg’s residents live; 2022.
About 42 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
North Bergen Free Public Library serves 63,361 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Guttenberg Resource Center
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
118K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 89K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
21,728 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Guttenberg Resource Center, 7002 Boulevard East, Guttenberg.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Guttenberg? 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 Guttenberg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 53,476 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guttenberg | Guttenberg Resource Center | 1.9 | — | D− |
| North Bergen Township | North Bergen Public Library | 1.9 | 63 | D− |
| West New York | West New York Public Library | — | — | D− |
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 Guttenberg
Does Guttenberg have a public library?
Yes. North Bergen Free Public Library, 7002 Boulevard East, serves 63,361 people in and around Guttenberg (the survey’s count).
Is North Bergen Free 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 Guttenberg’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Guttenberg’s civic life grade?
D− Guttenberg has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Guttenberg.
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.