Photo: Jrogers123 · CC BY-SA 3.0Montclair Township’s library runs 51 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Montclair Public Library serves Montclair Township’s 40,921 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 385K books, movies and e-books and logged 187K visits.
The short version on Montclair Township’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Montclair Public Library ran 2,106 programs last year, about 41 a week. That’s 51 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 38,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 2,106 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 731 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Montclair Township invests in its library
Montclair Public Library spends $101 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 59% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 83% of similar-size libraries. 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 Montclair Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Montclair Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #24 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Montclair Township’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
299 community nonprofits are registered in Montclair Township
7.4 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 (41 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 14 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.3%
10.3% of Montclair 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 Montclair Township’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 Montclair Township last year.
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.
Montclair Public Library serves 40,921 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 90 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
385K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 150K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
114,739 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 Montclair Township
Montclair Public Library, 50 S. Fullerton Avenue, Montclair.
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 Montclair Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Montclair Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montclair Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.1M 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 22,793 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Montclair Township ranks 2nd of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Ridge | Glen Ridge Free Public Library fine-free | 14.6 | 56 | A |
| Montclair Township | Montclair Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 52 | A |
| Upper Montclair | Bellevue Ave. Branch Lib. fine-free | 9.4 | 30 | — graded as part of its town |
| Verona Township | Verona Free Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 51 | A |
| Cedar Grove Township | Cedar Grove Free Public Library fine-free | 6.9 | 50 | C+ |
| Little Falls Township | Little Falls Public Library fine-free | 5.5 | 52 | C− |
| West Orange Township | West Orange Free Pub. Lib. fine-free | 4.8 | 60 | C+ |
| Clifton | Clifton Public Library | 4.7 | 60 | D |
| Montclair State University | 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.
- 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 Montclair Township
Does Montclair Township have a public library?
Yes. Montclair Public Library, 50 S. Fullerton Avenue, serves Montclair Township’s 40,921 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montclair 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 Montclair Township’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 9.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Montclair Township’s civic life grade?
A Montclair Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #24 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 Montclair 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.