Photo: J · CC BY-SA 4.0Ridgewood’s library runs 147 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Ridgewood Public Library serves Ridgewood’s 25,979 residents. Last year it lent 353K books, movies and e-books and logged 226K visits.
The short version on Ridgewood’s library
Ten times the programs of a typical library its size
Ridgewood Public Library ran 3,808 programs last year, about 73 a week. That’s 147 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 38,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Ridgewood uses its library more than almost any town its size
Ridgewood Public Library logs 8.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 90% 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 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 25 items per child in Ridgewood last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for borrowing
Ridgewood ranks #14 of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 10 items per resident, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 26% of all loans. 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 Ridgewood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ridgewood is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #37 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 →
155 community nonprofits are registered in Ridgewood
5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (24 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.
8.2%
8.2% of Ridgewood’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 Ridgewood’s residents live; 2022.
About 15 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 Ridgewood last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Ridgewood Public Library serves 25,979 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 98 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
353K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 107K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
90,717 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ridgewood? 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 $1.86 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ridgewood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 7,057 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ridgewood ranks 3rd of 9 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paramus | Paramus Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 68 | A− |
| Wyckoff Township | Wyckoff Free Public Library | 14.5 | 66 | A |
| Ridgewood | Ridgewood Public Library | 13.6 | 69 | A |
| Glen Rock | Glen Rock Public Library | 13.4 | 54 | A+ |
| Midland Park | Midland Park Memorial Lib. | 12.7 | 54 | A |
| Ho-Ho-Kus | Ho-Ho-Kus Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 44 | A− |
| Waldwick | Waldwick Public Library | 9.8 | 58 | A− |
| Washington Township | Wash. Twp Pub Lib/Westwood fine-free | 8.5 | 59 | B |
| Hawthorne | Louis Bay 2nd Library & Comm. Ctr. | 6.1 | 61 | C |
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 Ridgewood
Does Ridgewood have a public library?
Yes. Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N. Maple Avenue, serves Ridgewood’s 25,979 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ridgewood 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 Ridgewood’s library?
It logged 8.7 visits and lent 13.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ridgewood’s civic life grade?
A Ridgewood is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #37 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 Ridgewood.
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.