Teunis Haring House · Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Old Tappan’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Old Tappan Free Public Library serves Old Tappan’s 5,888 residents. Last year it lent 68K books, movies and e-books and logged 61K visits.
Old Tappan’s library, in brief
Old Tappan uses its library more than almost any town its size
Old Tappan Free Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.2 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 22 items per child in Old Tappan last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for library use
Old Tappan ranks #19 of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 10 visits per resident, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
10,000 people came to the library’s 549 programs last year: 1.7 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Old Tappan invests in its library
Old Tappan Free Public Library spends $102 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Tappan’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Old Tappan is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #77 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Old Tappan
4.3 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Old Tappan’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 Tappan’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Old Tappan Free Public Library serves 5,888 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
68K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
13,539 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Tappan last year.
Find it
Old Tappan Free Public Library, 56 Russell Avenue, Old Tappan.
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 Old Tappan? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Old Tappan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $600K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $600K 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 2,315 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Old Tappan ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrington Park | Harrington Park Public Library | 12.5 | 45 | B− |
| Old Tappan | Old Tappan Free Public Library fine-free | 11.5 | 50 | A− |
| River Vale Township | River Vale Public Library | 10.3 | 58 | B |
| Northvale | Northvale Public Library fine-free | 5.4 | 42 | B+ |
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 Old Tappan
Does Old Tappan have a public library?
Yes. Old Tappan Free Public Library, 56 Russell Avenue, serves Old Tappan’s 5,888 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Old Tappan Free 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 Old Tappan’s library?
It logged 10.4 visits and lent 11.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Old Tappan’s civic life grade?
A− Old Tappan is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #77 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 Tappan.
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.