William Carlos Williams House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Rutherford’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Rutherford Free Public Library serves Rutherford’s 18,834 residents. Last year it lent 163K books, movies and e-books and logged 200K visits.
The short version on Rutherford’s library
Rutherford out-borrows every town next door
At 8.7 loans per resident, Rutherford leads the five towns here. The closest is Clifton, at 4.7. Libraries next door ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Rutherford last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for library use
Rutherford ranks #17 of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 11 visits per resident, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
21,000 people came to the library’s 986 programs last year: 1.1 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 986 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 346 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 Rutherford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rutherford is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #68 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 →
81 community nonprofits are registered in Rutherford
4.3 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.4%
8.4% of Rutherford’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 Rutherford’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 62 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Rutherford Free Public Library serves 18,834 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
163K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 73K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
34,512 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 Rutherford last year.
Find it
Rutherford Free Pub. Lib., 150 Park Avenue, Rutherford.
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 Rutherford? 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 $2.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rutherford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 9,428 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rutherford borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford | Rutherford Free Pub. Lib. fine-free | 8.7 | 51 | A− |
| Clifton | Clifton Public Library | 4.7 | 60 | D |
| East Rutherford | East Rutherford Memorial Library | 4.6 | 52 | D |
| Lyndhurst Township | Lyndhurst Free Public Library | 3.0 | — | C− |
| Passaic | Passaic Public Library | 2.7 | 74 | 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 Rutherford
Does Rutherford have a public library?
Yes. Rutherford Free Public Library, 150 Park Avenue, serves Rutherford’s 18,834 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rutherford 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 Rutherford’s library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 8.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Rutherford’s civic life grade?
A− Rutherford is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #68 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 Rutherford.
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.