Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Newark’s library lends 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Newark Public Library serves Newark’s 311,549 residents from 7 locations. Last year it lent 115K books, movies and e-books and logged 267K visits.
The short version on Newark’s library
Newark Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Newark Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. How it compares ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Seven places to borrow in Newark
Newark Public Library runs seven locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Newark Public Library holds 851,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Newark’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Newark is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #433 of 466 in New Jersey. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #346. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Newark’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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 →
877 community nonprofits are registered in Newark
2.8 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 (490 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 83 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.3%
2.3% of Newark’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 Newark’s residents live; 2022.
43% of borrowing is digital
115K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 851K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
48,910 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Newark Public Library serves 311,549 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 12 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 Newark last year.
7 places to borrow in Newark
Newark Public Library, 5 Washington Street, Newark.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Newark? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Newark
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newark cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $14M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14M 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 131,313 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Newark ranks 7th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maplewood Township | Maplewood Memorial Library | 7.3 | 50 | A− |
| South Orange Village Township | South Orange Public Library | 4.0 | 60 | A− |
| Kearny | Kearny Public Library | 2.0 | 47 | D |
| Elizabeth | Elizabeth Free Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 53 | D |
| Belleville Township | Belleville Free Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 52 | D− |
| East Orange | East Orange Public Library | 0.6 | 60 | D |
| Newark | Newark Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 58 | D− |
| Irvington Township | Irvington Public Library | 0.2 | 53 | D− |
| Harrison | Harrison Public Library | — | — | D− |
| Silver Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Ampere North | 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 Newark
Does Newark have a public library?
Yes. Newark Public Library, 5 Washington Street, serves Newark’s 311,549 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newark 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 Newark’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Newark’s civic life grade?
D− Newark is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #433 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 Newark.
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.