Photo: JILLIEE · CC BY-SA 4.0River Edge’s library runs 105 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
River Edge Free Public Library serves River Edge’s 12,049 residents. Last year it lent 111K books, movies and e-books and logged 94K visits.
River Edge’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
River Edge Free Public Library ran 1,261 programs last year, about 24 a week. That’s 105 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in River Edge last year. Kids & programs ↓
People come to River Edge Free Public Library a lot
River Edge Free Public Library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
River Edge Free Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Four of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 1,261 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 134 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 River Edge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, River Edge is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #142 of 466 in New Jersey. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in River Edge
3.6 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of River Edge’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 River Edge’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 River Edge last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
River Edge Free Public Library serves 12,049 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 44 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
111K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 63K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
21,994 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
River Edge Free Pub. Lib., 685 Elm Avenue, River Edge.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in River Edge? 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 $2.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average River Edge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $854K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $854K 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 5,974 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
River Edge ranks 3rd of 6 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− |
| Oradell | Oradell Public Library | 11.1 | 62 | A |
| River Edge | River Edge Free Pub. Lib. | 9.2 | 49 | B+ |
| Teaneck Township | Teaneck Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 68 | C+ |
| New Milford | New Milford Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 48 | C+ |
| Hackensack | Johnson Free Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 64 | 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 River Edge
Does River Edge have a public library?
Yes. River Edge Free Public Library, 685 Elm Avenue, serves River Edge’s 12,049 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is River Edge Free 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 River Edge’s library?
It logged 7.8 visits and lent 9.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is River Edge’s civic life grade?
B+ River Edge is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #142 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 River Edge.
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.