Upper Montclair’s library runs 51 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Montclair Public Library serves 40,921 people in and around Upper Montclair. Last year it lent 385K books, movies and e-books and logged 187K visits.
What Upper Montclair’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Montclair Public Library ran 2,106 programs last year, about 41 a week. That’s 51 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 38,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Free Public Library, Upper Montclair Branch has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. Today’s library there has 4,000 square feet. The building ↓
Upper Montclair out-borrows every town next door
At 9.4 loans per resident, Upper Montclair leads the four towns here. The closest is Montclair Township, at 9.4. Libraries next door ↓
Montclair Public Library serves more than Upper Montclair
The library’s service area covers 40,921 people in and around Upper Montclair, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 2,106 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 731 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 Upper Montclair’s civic life grade
Upper Montclair 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 →
About 14 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Montclair Public Library serves 40,921 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 90 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
385K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 150K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
114,739 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1988
Bellevue Ave. Branch Lib., 185 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair.
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 Upper Montclair? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Free Public Library, Upper Montclair Branch
Free Public Library, Upper Montclair Branch was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 1, 1988. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. It was listed as part of Montclair MRA.
The Free Public Library, Upper Montclair Branch is located at 185 Bellevue Avenue in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair in Essex County, United States. The building was built in 1914 and still serves as a Bellevue Branch of the Montclair Public Library. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 1, 1988, for its significance in architecture.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Upper Montclair cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.1M 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 22,793 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Upper Montclair borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Montclair | Bellevue Ave. Branch Lib. fine-free | 9.4 | 30 | — graded as part of its town |
| Montclair Township | Montclair Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 52 | A |
| Cedar Grove Township | Cedar Grove Free Public Library fine-free | 6.9 | 50 | C+ |
| Clifton | Clifton Public Library | 4.7 | 60 | D |
| Montclair State 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 Upper Montclair
Does Upper Montclair have a public library?
Yes. Montclair Public Library, 185 Bellevue Avenue, serves 40,921 people in and around Upper Montclair (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montclair 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 Upper Montclair’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 9.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Upper Montclair’s civic life grade?
Upper Montclair 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 Upper Montclair.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.