Photo: State of New Jersey, Dept of Parks and Forestry · Public domainOld Bridge Township’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Old Bridge Public Library serves Old Bridge Township’s 66,876 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 209K books, movies and e-books and logged 221K visits.
Old Bridge Township’s library, in brief
Open about 99 hours a week
The main library is open about 99 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 88% of similar-size libraries. 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 Old Bridge Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Old Bridge Township is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #336 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($78K–$131K) 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 →
170 community nonprofits are registered in Old Bridge Township
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 12 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.7%
5.7% of Old Bridge Township’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 Old Bridge Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Old Bridge Public Library serves 66,876 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Old Bridge Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
209K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 175K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
16,780 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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 Old Bridge Township last year.
2 places to borrow in Old Bridge Township
Old Bridge Public Library, 1 Old Bridge Plaza, Old Bridge.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Old Bridge Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Old Bridge Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Old Bridge Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.3M 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 15,137 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Old Bridge Township ranks 5th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick Township | East Brunswick Public Library | 10.7 | 65 | B+ |
| Monroe Township | Monroe Township Public Library fine-free | 8.6 | 63 | C+ |
| Matawan | Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library fine-free | 4.1 | 62 | C |
| Spotswood | Spotswood Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 43 | B− |
| Old Bridge Township | Old Bridge Public Library | 3.1 | 99 | C− |
| Laurence Harbor | Laurence Harbor Branch | 3.1 | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Sayreville | Sayreville Free Public Library | 2.6 | 65 | D |
| Aberdeen Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Cliffwood Beach | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Madison Park | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Old Bridge Township
Does Old Bridge Township have a public library?
Yes. Old Bridge Public Library, 1 Old Bridge Plaza, serves Old Bridge Township’s 66,876 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 99 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Old Bridge Public 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 Old Bridge Township’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Old Bridge Township’s civic life grade?
C− Old Bridge Township is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #336 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 Old Bridge Township.
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.