Photo: Mpftmead at English Wikipedia · Public domainManchester Township’s library is a branch of Ocean County Library, which lends more per resident than 71% of systems its size
Manchester Township’s library is the Manchester Branch, a branch of Ocean County Library, which serves 636,202 people and lent 4.1M items last year.
The short version on Manchester Township’s library
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Ocean County Library system ran 14,768 programs last year, about 284 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 335,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Manchester Township branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
A well-funded system
The Ocean County Library system spends $73 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. All of it 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; Manchester Township’s library is a branch of Ocean County Library, so they cover the whole system (636,202 people), not just the Manchester Township branch.
What’s behind Manchester Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Manchester Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #384 of 466 in New Jersey. Manchester Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
74 community nonprofits are registered in Manchester Township
1.6 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 (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of Manchester 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 Manchester Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 64 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Ocean County Library serves 636,202 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 69 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ocean County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
890,642 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Manchester Township
Manchester Branch, 21 Colonial Drive, Lakehurst.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Ocean County Library branch.
New in Manchester Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Ocean County Library branches in Manchester Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manchester Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $47M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $64M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47M 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 199,653 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester Township | Manchester Branch fine-free | — | 64 | D |
| Toms River Township | Ocean County Library fine-free | — | 68 | C− |
| Lacey Township | Lacey Branch Library fine-free | — | 64 | B |
| Jackson Township | Jackson Branch Library fine-free | — | 64 | C− |
| Plumsted Township | Plumsted Library fine-free | — | 43 | B− |
| Pine Lake Park | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Pine Ridge at Crestwood | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Holiday City-Berkeley | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Cedar Glen West | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- System-wide. Manchester Branch is one branch of Ocean County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 636,202 people it serves.
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 Manchester Township
Does Manchester Township have a public library?
Yes: Manchester Branch, 21 Colonial Drive, is a branch of Ocean County Library, which serves 636,202 people. The branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ocean County 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 Manchester Township’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Manchester Township’s civic life grade?
D Manchester Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #384 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 Manchester 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.