Photo: Jim.henderson · Public domainMaplewood Township’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Maplewood Memorial Library serves Maplewood Township’s 25,684 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 186K books, movies and e-books and logged 68K visits.
Maplewood Township’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 83% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 80% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Maplewood Township’s library system charges late fines on some overdue items. Three of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 564 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 152 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Maplewood Township invests in its library
Maplewood Township’s library system spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 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.
What’s behind Maplewood Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Maplewood Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #78 of 466 in New Jersey. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
140 community nonprofits are registered in Maplewood Township
5.5 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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
16.8%
16.8% of Maplewood 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 Maplewood Township’s residents live; 2022.
41% of borrowing is digital
186K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 80K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
76,935 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Maplewood Memorial Library serves 25,684 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 3 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 Maplewood Township last year.
2 places to borrow in Maplewood Township
Maplewood Memorial Library, 51 Baker Street, Maplewood.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Maplewood Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Maplewood Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Maplewood Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.2M 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 13,656 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Maplewood Township ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millburn Township | Millburn Free Public Library fine-free | 19.7 | 63 | A− |
| Maplewood Township | Maplewood Memorial Library | 7.3 | 50 | A− |
| South Orange Village Township | South Orange Public Library | 4.0 | 60 | 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 Maplewood Township
Does Maplewood Township have a public library?
Yes. Maplewood Memorial Library, 51 Baker Street, serves Maplewood Township’s 25,684 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Maplewood Memorial 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 Maplewood Township’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 7.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Maplewood Township’s civic life grade?
A− Maplewood Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #78 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 Maplewood 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.