Photo: Jim.henderson · Public domainSouth Orange Village Township’s library runs 9 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
South Orange Public Library serves South Orange Village Township’s 18,484 residents. Last year it lent 75K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
The short version on South Orange Village Township’s library
Most of South Orange Village Township’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 50% of loans, more per resident than at 75% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 50%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 59% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 64% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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 South Orange Village Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Orange Village Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #79 of 466 in New Jersey. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
116 community nonprofits are registered in South Orange Village Township
6.3 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
17.8%
17.8% of South Orange Village Township’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 South Orange Village Township’s residents live; 2022.
50% of borrowing is digital
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 48K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
37,415 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
South Orange Public Library serves 18,484 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 2 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 South Orange Village Township last year.
Find it
South Orange Public Library, 65 Scotland Road, So. Orange.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Orange Village Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Orange Village Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 7,683 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Orange Village Township ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maplewood Township | Maplewood Memorial Library | 7.3 | 50 | A− |
| West Orange Township | West Orange Free Pub. Lib. fine-free | 4.8 | 60 | C+ |
| South Orange Village Township | South Orange Public Library | 4.0 | 60 | A− |
| East Orange | East Orange Public Library | 0.6 | 60 | D |
| City of Orange Township | The Orange Public Library | 0.4 | 57 | D− |
| Newark | Newark Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 58 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. South Orange Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 South Orange Village Township
Does South Orange Village Township have a public library?
Yes. South Orange Public Library, 65 Scotland Road, serves South Orange Village Township’s 18,484 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Orange 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 South Orange Village Township’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is South Orange Village Township’s civic life grade?
A− South Orange Village Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #79 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 South Orange Village Township.
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.