Gov. William Liberty Hall (Livingston House) · Photo: Dmadeo · CC BY-SA 4.0Union Township’s library lends 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Union Free Public Library serves Union Township’s 59,728 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 139K books, movies and e-books and logged 109K visits.
Union Township’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Union Free Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 70% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 62% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 646 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 261 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 Union Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Union Township is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #380 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Union Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($90K–$149K) 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 →
203 community nonprofits are registered in Union Township
3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (92 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 27 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.5%
4.5% of Union 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 Union Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Union Free Public Library serves 59,728 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
139K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 122K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
34,476 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Union Township last year.
2 places to borrow in Union Township
Union Free Public Library, 1980 Morris Avenue, Union.
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 Union Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Union Township
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Union Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.7M 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 12,352 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Union Township ranks 5th of 9 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millburn Township | Millburn Free Public Library fine-free | 19.7 | 63 | A− |
| Maplewood Township | Maplewood Memorial Library | 7.3 | 50 | A− |
| Springfield Township | Springfield Free Pub. Lib. | 6.1 | 56 | B+ |
| Kenilworth | Kenilworth Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 44 | B+ |
| Union Township | Union Free Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 57 | D |
| Vauxhall | Vauxhall Branch Library fine-free | 2.3 | 40 | — graded as part of its town |
| Elizabeth | Elizabeth Free Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 53 | D |
| Hillside Township | Hillside Free Public Library | 1.0 | 51 | D− |
| Irvington Township | Irvington Public Library | 0.2 | 53 | D− |
| Kean University | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Union Township
Does Union Township have a public library?
Yes. Union Free Public Library, 1980 Morris Avenue, serves Union Township’s 59,728 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Union Free 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 Union Township’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Union Township’s civic life grade?
D Union Township is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #380 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 Union 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.