Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 4.0Midland Park’s library runs 142 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Midland Park Memorial Library serves Midland Park’s 7,014 residents. Last year it lent 89K books, movies and e-books and logged 67K visits.
The short version on Midland Park’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Midland Park Memorial Library ran 999 programs last year, about 19 a week. That’s 142 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 15,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Midland Park uses its library more than almost any town its size
Midland Park Memorial Library logs 9.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 31 items per child in Midland Park last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for kids’ borrowing
Midland Park ranks #7 of 215 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 999 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Midland Park’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Midland Park is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #16 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Midland Park
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.2%
12.2% of Midland Park’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 Midland Park’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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 Midland Park last year.
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.
Midland Park Memorial Library serves 7,014 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 32 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
17,166 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Midland Park Memorial Lib., 250 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Midland Park? 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 $2.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Midland Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $495K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $495K 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 3,754 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Midland Park ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyckoff Township | Wyckoff Free Public Library | 14.5 | 66 | A |
| Ridgewood | Ridgewood Public Library | 13.6 | 69 | A |
| Midland Park | Midland Park Memorial Lib. | 12.7 | 54 | A |
| Waldwick | Waldwick Public Library | 9.8 | 58 | A− |
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 Midland Park
Does Midland Park have a public library?
Yes. Midland Park Memorial Library, 250 Godwin Avenue, serves Midland Park’s 7,014 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Midland Park 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 Midland Park’s library?
It logged 9.5 visits and lent 12.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Midland Park’s civic life grade?
A Midland Park is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #16 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 Midland Park.
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.