Murray Hill Station · Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0New Providence’s library runs 65 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
New Providence Memorial Library serves New Providence’s 13,650 residents. Last year it lent 140K books, movies and e-books and logged 78K visits.
What New Providence’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in New Providence last year. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
New Providence Memorial Library ran 886 programs last year, about 17 a week. That’s 65 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 15,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in New Providence has a card
11,702 cards for 13,650 people, or 86%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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 New Providence’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, New Providence is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #56 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in New Providence
4.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.1%
10.1% of New Providence’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 New Providence’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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 New Providence last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
New Providence Memorial Library serves 13,650 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 48 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
140K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 58K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
35,688 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Providence Memorial Lib., 377 Elkwood Avenue, New Providence.
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 New Providence? 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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Providence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 11,702 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New Providence ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit | Summit Free Public Library fine-free | 13.2 | 64 | A |
| New Providence | New Providence Memorial Lib. fine-free | 10.2 | 57 | A |
| Berkeley Heights Township | Berkeley Heights Free Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 67 | B+ |
| Chatham Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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 New Providence
Does New Providence have a public library?
Yes. New Providence Memorial Library, 377 Elkwood Avenue, serves New Providence’s 13,650 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Providence Memorial 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 New Providence’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 10.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is New Providence’s civic life grade?
A New Providence is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #56 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 New Providence.
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.