Photo: Milkbreath · Public domainStratford’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Stratford Public Library serves Stratford’s 6,981 residents. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and drew 595 people to its programs.
Stratford’s library, in brief
Most of Stratford’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 85% of loans, more per resident than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 15%. What people borrow ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Stratford Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Gloucester Township Branch Library in Gloucester Township, next door, is open about 58 hours a week. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Stratford Public Library offered 56 programs last year, 8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Stratford Public Library holds 53,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Stratford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Stratford is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #247 of 466 in New Jersey. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($74K–$123K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 Stratford
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.7%
9.7% of Stratford’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 Stratford’s residents live; 2022.
85% of borrowing is digital
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Stratford’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 53K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
29,378 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 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Stratford Public Library serves 6,981 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 2,074 visits against 35K loans, so we leave the count out.
56 programs a year
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.
Find it
Stratford Public Library, 303 Union Avenue, Stratford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Stratford? 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 $3.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stratford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $150K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $535K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $150K 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 4,145 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford | Stratford Public Library | 5.0 | 20 | C+ |
| Gloucester Township | Gloucester Township Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | D |
| Lindenwold | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Hi-Nella | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Laurel Springs | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Somerdale | 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.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Stratford
Does Stratford have a public library?
Yes. Stratford Public Library, 303 Union Avenue, serves Stratford’s 6,981 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stratford 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 Stratford’s library?
It lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 56 programs that drew 595 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Stratford’s civic life grade?
C+ Stratford is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #247 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 Stratford.
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.