Photo: Freeholdman12 · CC BY 4.0Spotswood’s library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Spotswood Public Library serves Spotswood’s 8,163 residents. Last year it lent 30K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
The short version on Spotswood’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people Spotswood Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
61% of the 433 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 133 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 Spotswood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Spotswood is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #197 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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Spotswood
3.7 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 (2 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.
8.8%
8.8% of Spotswood’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 Spotswood’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Spotswood Public Library serves 8,163 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
30K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
4,692 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Spotswood last year.
Find it
Spotswood Public Library, 548 Main Street, Spotswood.
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 Spotswood? 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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Spotswood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $282K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $495K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $282K 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 1,463 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Spotswood ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick Township | East Brunswick Public Library | 10.7 | 65 | B+ |
| Monroe Township | Monroe Township Public Library fine-free | 8.6 | 63 | C+ |
| Spotswood | Spotswood Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 43 | B− |
| Old Bridge Township | Old Bridge Public Library | 3.1 | 99 | C− |
| Helmetta | 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 Spotswood
Does Spotswood have a public library?
Yes. Spotswood Public Library, 548 Main Street, serves Spotswood’s 8,163 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spotswood 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 Spotswood’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Spotswood’s civic life grade?
B− Spotswood is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life, #197 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 Spotswood.
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.