Hopper-Goetschius House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Upper Saddle River’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Upper Saddle River Public Library serves Upper Saddle River’s 8,353 residents. Last year it lent 106K books, movies and e-books and logged 85K visits.
The short version on Upper Saddle River’s library
Upper Saddle River uses its library more than almost any town its size
Upper Saddle River Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 21 items per child in Upper Saddle River last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for library use
Upper Saddle River ranks #20 of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 10 visits per resident, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Upper Saddle River invests in its library
Upper Saddle River Public Library spends $133 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Saddle River’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Upper Saddle River is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #3 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
49 community nonprofits are registered in Upper Saddle River
5.9 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.5%
11.5% of Upper Saddle River’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 Upper Saddle River’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Upper Saddle River Public Library serves 8,353 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
106K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
28,081 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Upper Saddle River last year.
Find it
Upper Saddle River Public Library, 245 Lake Street, Saddle River.
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 Saddle River? 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 $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Upper Saddle River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 5,046 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Upper Saddle River ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montvale | Montvale Free Public Library fine-free | 19.2 | 52 | A |
| Upper Saddle River | Upper Saddle River Public Library fine-free | 12.6 | 59 | A+ |
| Mahwah Township | Mahwah Free Public Library | 12.2 | 62 | B+ |
| Ramsey | Ramsey Free Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 60 | A |
| Saddle River | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Woodcliff Lake | 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 Upper Saddle River
Does Upper Saddle River have a public library?
Yes. Upper Saddle River Public Library, 245 Lake Street, serves Upper Saddle River’s 8,353 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Upper Saddle River 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 Saddle River’s library?
It logged 10.2 visits and lent 12.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Upper Saddle River’s civic life grade?
A+ Upper Saddle River is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Upper Saddle River.
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.