Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Ho-Ho-Kus’ library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Worth Pinkham Memorial Library serves Ho-Ho-Kus’s 4,258 residents. Last year it lent 43K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
Ho-Ho-Kus’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 16 items per child in Ho-Ho-Kus last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Ho-Ho-Kus invests in its library
Worth Pinkham Memorial Library spends $111 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 175 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Ho-Ho-Kus’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ho-Ho-Kus is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #62 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ho-Ho-Kus’ count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Ho-Ho-Kus
6.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Ho-Ho-Kus’ 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 Ho-Ho-Kus’ residents live; 2022.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
14,414 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Worth Pinkham Memorial Library serves 4,258 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Ho-Ho-Kus last year.
Find it
Ho-Ho-Kus Public Library, 91 Warren Avenue, Ho-Ho-Kus.
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 Ho-Ho-Kus? 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 $1.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ho-Ho-Kus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $472K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $650K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $472K 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 2,250 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ho-Ho-Kus ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgewood | Ridgewood Public Library | 13.6 | 69 | A |
| Ho-Ho-Kus | Ho-Ho-Kus Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 44 | A− |
| Waldwick | Waldwick Public Library | 9.8 | 58 | A− |
| Washington Township | Wash. Twp Pub Lib/Westwood fine-free | 8.5 | 59 | B |
| Saddle River | None of its own | — | — | A |
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 Ho-Ho-Kus
Does Ho-Ho-Kus have a public library?
Yes. Worth Pinkham Memorial Library, 91 Warren Avenue, serves Ho-Ho-Kus’ 4,258 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Worth Pinkham Memorial 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 Ho-Ho-Kus’ library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 10.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ho-Ho-Kus’ civic life grade?
A− Ho-Ho-Kus is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #62 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 Ho-Ho-Kus.
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.