Photo: Adam Moss from Tonawanda, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Waldwick’s library logs 8.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Waldwick Public Library serves Waldwick’s 10,058 residents. Last year it lent 98K books, movies and e-books and logged 89K visits.
Waldwick’s library, in brief
People come to Waldwick Public Library a lot
Waldwick Public Library logs 8.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.7 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Waldwick’s library lends 9.8 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Wyckoff Township at 14. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 403 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 158 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 Waldwick’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Waldwick is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #76 of 466 in New Jersey. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
51 community nonprofits are registered in Waldwick
5.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
7.4%
7.4% of Waldwick’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 Waldwick’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Waldwick Public Library serves 10,058 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
98K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
20,221 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Waldwick last year.
Find it
Waldwick Public Library, 19 E. Prospect Street, Waldwick.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Waldwick? 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 $2.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waldwick cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $696K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $696K 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 4,172 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Waldwick ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyckoff Township | Wyckoff Free Public Library | 14.5 | 66 | A |
| Ridgewood | Ridgewood Public Library | 13.6 | 69 | A |
| Allendale | Lee Memorial Library | 13.4 | 54 | A |
| Midland Park | Midland Park Memorial Lib. | 12.7 | 54 | A |
| Ho-Ho-Kus | Ho-Ho-Kus Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 44 | A− |
| Waldwick | Waldwick Public Library | 9.8 | 58 | A− |
| Saddle River | None of its own | — | — | A |
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 Waldwick
Does Waldwick have a public library?
Yes. Waldwick Public Library, 19 E. Prospect Street, serves Waldwick’s 10,058 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waldwick 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 Waldwick’s library?
It logged 8.9 visits and lent 9.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Waldwick’s civic life grade?
A− Waldwick is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #76 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 Waldwick.
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.