Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 3.0Manville’s library is a branch of Somerset County Library, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Manville’s library is the Manville Public Library, a branch of Somerset County Library, which serves 224,243 people and lent 2.6M items last year.
Manville’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Somerset County Library system ran 6,293 programs last year, about 121 a week. That’s 28 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 179,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Somerset County Library system logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Somerset County Library system spends $84 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) 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; Manville’s library is a branch of Somerset County Library, so they cover the whole system (224,243 people), not just the Manville branch.
What’s behind Manville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Manville is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #342 of 466 in New Jersey. Manville 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 ($70K–$117K) 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Manville
2.7 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 (7 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.
6.5%
6.5% of Manville’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 Manville’s residents live; 2022.
About 56 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.
Somerset County Library serves 224,243 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 104 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Somerset County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
504,617 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Manville Public Library, 100 S. Tenth Avenue, Manville.
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 Somerset County Library branch.
New in Manville? 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 $2.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $19M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $19M 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 83,099 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset | 4.8 | 61 | D |
| Manville | Manville Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | C− |
| Bridgewater Township | Bridgewater Branch fine-free | — | 58 | B− |
| Hillsborough Township | Hillsborough Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | B− |
| Finderne | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Zarephath | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Weston | 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. Manville Public Library is one branch of Somerset County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 224,243 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 Manville
Does Manville have a public library?
Yes: Manville Public Library, 100 S. Tenth Avenue, is a branch of Somerset County Library, which serves 224,243 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Somerset 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 Manville’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 11.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Manville’s civic life grade?
C− Manville is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #342 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 Manville.
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.