Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Thorofare’s library lends 2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
West Deptford Free Public Library serves 22,197 people in and around Thorofare. Last year it lent 54K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
Thorofare’s library, in brief
West Deptford Free Public Library serves more than Thorofare
The library’s service area covers 22,197 people in and around Thorofare, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
West Deptford Free Public Library holds 97,000 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 Thorofare’s civic life grade
Thorofare isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
West Deptford Free Public Library serves 22,197 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
54K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 97K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
9,903 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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.
Find it
West Deptford Public Library, 420 Crown Point Road, Thorofare.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Thorofare? 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 Thorofare cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $934K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $904K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $934K 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 8,933 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Thorofare ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tinicum Township | Tinicum Memorial Public Library | 6.0 | 43 | C |
| Thorofare | West Deptford Public Library | 2.4 | 52 | — graded as part of its town |
| West Deptford Township | West Deptford Public Library | 2.4 | 52 | C− |
| Philadelphia | Free Library of Philadelphia fine-free | — | 49 | D |
| National Park | None of its own | — | — | 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 Thorofare
Does Thorofare have a public library?
Yes. West Deptford Free Public Library, 420 Crown Point Road, serves 22,197 people in and around Thorofare (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Deptford Free 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 Thorofare’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Thorofare’s civic life grade?
Thorofare isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Thorofare.
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.