Oak Ridge’s library runs 32 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Jefferson Township Public Library serves 20,538 people in and around Oak Ridge. Last year it lent 111K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
The short version on Oak Ridge’s library
Open about 72 hours a week
Jefferson Township Public Library is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out. The building ↓
Jefferson Township Public Library serves more than Oak Ridge
The library’s service area covers 20,538 people in and around Oak Ridge, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 Oak Ridge’s civic life grade
Oak Ridge isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jefferson Township Public Library serves 20,538 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
111K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
32,859 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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.
Find it
Jefferson Twsp. Pub. Lib., 1031 Weldon Road, Oak Ridge.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oak Ridge? 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 $1.73 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oak Ridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $989K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $989K budget.
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 7,964 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Oak Ridge ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockaway Township | Rockaway Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 7.2 | 62 | C |
| West Milford Township | West Milford Twsp. Library | 5.7 | 59 | A− |
| Oak Ridge | Jefferson Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 5.4 | 72 | — graded as part of its town |
| Jefferson Township | Jefferson Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 5.4 | 72 | C |
| Newfoundland | 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 Oak Ridge
Does Oak Ridge have a public library?
Yes. Jefferson Township Public Library, 1031 Weldon Road, serves 20,538 people in and around Oak Ridge (the survey’s count) and is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year.
How busy is Oak Ridge’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Oak Ridge’s civic life grade?
Oak Ridge isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Oak Ridge.
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.