Preakness’ library runs 35 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Wayne Public Library serves 54,838 people in and around Preakness. Last year it lent 356K books, movies and e-books and logged 197K visits.
Preakness’s library, in brief
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Wayne Public Library ran 1,945 programs last year, about 37 a week. That’s 35 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
Wayne Public Library is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 103 items go out. The building ↓
Wayne Public Library serves more than Preakness
The library’s service area covers 54,838 people in and around Preakness, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
66% of the 1,945 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 572 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Preakness’ civic life grade
Preakness 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 →
About 11 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Wayne Public Library serves 54,838 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 103 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
356K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 170K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
57,382 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Wayne Public Library, 461 Valley Road, Wayne.
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 Preakness? 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 $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Preakness cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M 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 17,750 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Preakness borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preakness | Wayne Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| Wayne Township | Wayne Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 67 | B+ |
| Totowa | Dwight D. Eisenhower Library fine-free | 2.9 | 46 | C |
| Haledon | Haledon Public Library | — | — | D |
| William Paterson University of New Jersey | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Packanack Lake | 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 Preakness
Does Preakness have a public library?
Yes. Wayne Public Library, 461 Valley Road, serves 54,838 people in and around Preakness (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wayne 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 Preakness’ library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Preakness’ civic life grade?
Preakness 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 Preakness.
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.