Newfield’s library runs 129 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Newfield Public Library serves Newfield’s 1,774 residents. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 10K visits.
The short version on Newfield’s library
More library cards than residents
2,406 cards for 1,774 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Newfield Public Library spends $16 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still busier than 73% of them. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Newfield Public Library serves 1,774 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 41 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 83% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 229 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.2 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Newfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Newfield is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. Library visits hold the grade up; Newfield’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Newfield
2.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Newfield’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 Newfield’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Newfield Public Library serves 1,774 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
12K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Newfield last year.
Find it
Newfield Public Library, 115 Catawba Avenue, Newfield.
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 Newfield? 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 $6.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $197K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 2,406 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfield | Newfield Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 41 | B− |
| Franklin Township | Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Franklinville | 2.7 | 51 | C− |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Newfield
Does Newfield have a public library?
Yes. Newfield Public Library, 115 Catawba Avenue, serves Newfield’s 1,774 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newfield 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 Newfield’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 6.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Newfield’s civic life grade?
B− Newfield is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Newfield.
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.