Photo: Lalmeister · CC BY-SA 3.0Roseland’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Roseland Free Public Library serves Roseland’s 6,299 residents. Last year it lent 70K books, movies and e-books and logged 68K visits.
What Roseland’s library is like
Roseland uses its library more than almost any town its size
Roseland Free Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9 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 ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for library use
Roseland ranks #16 of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 11 visits per resident, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Roseland Free Public Library ran 605 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 96 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Roseland last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
61% of the 605 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 183 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 Roseland’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Roseland is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #35 of 466 in New Jersey. Roseland’s count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
65 community nonprofits are registered in Roseland
10.4 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.9%
6.9% of Roseland’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 Roseland’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Roseland Free Public Library serves 6,299 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
70K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 54K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
12,709 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Roseland last year.
Find it
Roseland Public Library, 20 Roseland Avenue, Roseland.
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 Roseland? 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 $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Roseland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $547K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $547K 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 3,082 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Roseland ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston Township | Livingston Free Public Library fine-free | 15.5 | 60 | A |
| Roseland | Roseland Public Library fine-free | 11.1 | 48 | A |
| West Caldwell Township | West Caldwell Public Library fine-free | 10.3 | 57 | A− |
| East Hanover Township | East Hanover Twsp. Public Library | 4.6 | 65 | B− |
| Essex Fells | None of its own | — | — | 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 Roseland
Does Roseland have a public library?
Yes. Roseland Free Public Library, 20 Roseland Avenue, serves Roseland’s 6,299 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Roseland 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 Roseland’s library?
It logged 10.7 visits and lent 11.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Roseland’s civic life grade?
A Roseland is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 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 Roseland.
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.