Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Ringwood’s library runs 62 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Ringwood Public Library serves Ringwood’s 11,735 residents. Last year it lent 87K books, movies and e-books and logged 70K visits.
Ringwood’s library, in brief
Ringwood out-borrows every town next door
At 7.4 loans per resident, Ringwood leads the four towns here. The closest is West Milford Township, at 5.7. Libraries next door ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Ringwood Public Library ran 727 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 62 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 12,000 attended. 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 Ringwood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ringwood is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #31 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
56 community nonprofits are registered in Ringwood
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (9 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.
11.1%
11.1% of Ringwood’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 Ringwood’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Ringwood last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Ringwood Public Library serves 11,735 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
87K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
18,494 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ringwood Public Library, 30 Cannici Drive, Ringwood.
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 Ringwood? 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 $2.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ringwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $549K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $549K 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 4,636 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ringwood borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ringwood | Ringwood Public Library fine-free | 7.4 | 55 | A |
| West Milford Township | West Milford Twsp. Library | 5.7 | 59 | A− |
| Wanaque | Wanaque Free Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 54 | C+ |
| Bloomingdale | Bloomingdale Free Public Library | 3.6 | 50 | D |
| Warwick | Albert Wisner Public Library fine-free | — | 62 | A |
| Ramapo | Finkelstein Memorial Library | — | 65 | D |
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 Ringwood
Does Ringwood have a public library?
Yes. Ringwood Public Library, 30 Cannici Drive, serves Ringwood’s 11,735 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ringwood 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 Ringwood’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Ringwood’s civic life grade?
A Ringwood is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 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 Ringwood.
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.