Irvington Township’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Irvington Public Library serves Irvington Township’s 61,176 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.
Irvington Township’s library, in brief
Irvington Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Irvington Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Irvington Township’s library lends 0.2 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Maplewood Township at 7.3. Libraries next door ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Irvington Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Irvington Public Library offered 361 programs last year, 5.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. 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 Irvington Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Irvington Township has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Irvington Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in Irvington Township
1.6 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 (88 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 16 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.0%
2.0% of Irvington 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 Irvington Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Irvington Public Library serves 61,176 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 185K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
1,850 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Irvington Public Library, Civic Square, Irvington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Irvington Township? 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 Irvington Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $301K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 41,433 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Irvington Township ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maplewood Township | Maplewood Memorial Library | 7.3 | 50 | A− |
| Union Township | Union Free Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 57 | D |
| Newark | Newark Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 58 | D− |
| Irvington Township | Irvington Public Library | 0.2 | 53 | 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 Irvington Township
Does Irvington Township have a public library?
Yes. Irvington Public Library, Civic Square, serves Irvington Township’s 61,176 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Irvington 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 Irvington Township’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Irvington Township’s civic life grade?
D− Irvington Township has fewer library visits and 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 Irvington 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.