Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Oakhurst’s library is a branch of Monmouth County Library, which lends more per resident than 55% of systems its size
Oakhurst’s library is the Ocean Township Public Library, a branch of Monmouth County Library, which serves 425,110 people and lent 2.3M items last year.
What stands out about Ocean Township Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Oakhurst’s civic life grade
Oakhurst 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Monmouth County Library serves 425,110 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 67 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Monmouth County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
828,797 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 59 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Ocean Township Public Library, 701 Deal Road, Oakhurst.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Monmouth County Library branch.
New in Oakhurst? 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 $2.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oakhurst cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $17M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 105,663 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Ocean Township Public Library is one branch of Monmouth County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 425,110 people it serves.
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 Oakhurst
Does Oakhurst have a public library?
Yes: Ocean Township Public Library, 701 Deal Road, is a branch of Monmouth County Library, which serves 425,110 people. The branch is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Monmouth County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Oakhurst’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Oakhurst’s civic life grade?
Oakhurst 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 Oakhurst.
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.