Photo: Alyssa Maree Padovano · CC BY-SA 4.0Kenilworth’s library runs 78 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Kenilworth Public Library serves Kenilworth’s 8,427 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
Kenilworth’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 655 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kenilworth invests in its library
Kenilworth Public Library spends $91 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Kenilworth’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kenilworth is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #136 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Kenilworth
4.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Kenilworth’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 Kenilworth’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kenilworth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $765K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $510K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $765K 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 1,707 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Kenilworth Public Library serves 8,427 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
3,504 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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 Kenilworth last year.
Find it
Kenilworth Public Library, 548 Boulevard, Kenilworth.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kenilworth? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Kenilworth ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranford Township | Cranford Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 58 | A− |
| Springfield Township | Springfield Free Pub. Lib. | 6.1 | 56 | B+ |
| Kenilworth | Kenilworth Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 44 | B+ |
| Union Township | Union Free Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 57 | D |
| Roselle Park | Roselle Park Veteran's Mem. Lib. fine-free | 2.2 | — | C− |
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 Kenilworth
Does Kenilworth have a public library?
Yes. Kenilworth Public Library, 548 Boulevard, serves Kenilworth’s 8,427 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kenilworth 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 Kenilworth’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Kenilworth’s civic life grade?
B+ Kenilworth is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #136 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 Kenilworth.
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.