Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Sparta Township’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Sparta Public Library serves Sparta Township’s 19,600 residents. Last year it lent 217K books, movies and e-books and logged 269K visits.
The short version on Sparta Township’s library
Sparta Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Sparta Public Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 8.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Sparta Township ranks 6th in New Jersey for library use
Out of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own, Sparta Township comes 6th for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 16 items per child in Sparta Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
78% of Sparta Township carry a library card
15,227 cards for 19,600 people, or 78%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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 Sparta Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sparta Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #52 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 →
106 community nonprofits are registered in Sparta Township
5.3 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 (13 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.
7.9%
7.9% of Sparta 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 Sparta Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 68 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.
Sparta Public Library serves 19,600 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
217K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 61K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.
54,142 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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 Sparta Township last year.
Find it
Sparta Public Library, 22 Woodport Road, Sparta.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sparta Township? 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 $2.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sparta Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 15,227 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta Township | Sparta Public Library | 11.1 | 62 | A |
| Jefferson Township | Jefferson Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 5.4 | 72 | C |
| Ogdensburg | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Hardyston Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Lafayette Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Andover Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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 Sparta Township
Does Sparta Township have a public library?
Yes. Sparta Public Library, 22 Woodport Road, serves Sparta Township’s 19,600 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sparta 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 Sparta Township’s library?
It logged 13.7 visits and lent 11.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sparta Township’s civic life grade?
A Sparta Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #52 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 Sparta 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.