Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Long Hill Township’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Long Hill Township Free Public Library serves Long Hill Township’s 8,629 residents. Last year it lent 113K books, movies and e-books and logged 118K visits.
Long Hill Township’s library, in brief
Long Hill Township 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. That works out to about 28 items per child in Long Hill Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Long Hill Township ranks 7th in New Jersey for library use
Out of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own, Long Hill Township comes 7th for visits per resident. It’s also #10 for kids’ borrowing and #18 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
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 ↓
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 Long Hill Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Long Hill Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #59 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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Long Hill Township
3.9 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Long Hill 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 Long Hill Township’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Long Hill Township last year.
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 Long Hill Township? 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 Long Hill Township 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
Long Hill Township borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Hill Township | Long Hill Township Free Public Library fine-free | 13.1 | 48 | A |
| Gillette | Long Hill Township Free Public Library fine-free | 13.1 | 48 | — graded as part of its town |
| Bernards Township | Bernards Towhship Library | 12.6 | 54 | B+ |
| Berkeley Heights Township | Berkeley Heights Free Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 67 | B+ |
| Harding Township | Harding Township Library | 6.5 | 38 | B− |
| Warren Township | Warren Township Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | B |
| Millington | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Lyons | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| 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 Long Hill Township
Does Long Hill Township have a public library?
Yes. Long Hill Township Free Public Library, 917 Valley Road, serves Long Hill Township’s 8,629 residents (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 Long Hill Township’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 Long Hill Township’s civic life grade?
A Long Hill Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 Long Hill 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.