Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0West Caldwell Township’s library runs 77 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
West Caldwell Public Library serves West Caldwell Township’s 11,012 residents. Last year it lent 113K books, movies and e-books and logged 106K visits.
What West Caldwell Township’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
West Caldwell Public Library ran 844 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 77 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 10,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in New Jersey for library use
West Caldwell Township ranks #22 of 234 New Jersey towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 9.6 visits per resident, more than at 96% 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 1.1, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
West Caldwell Township invests in its library
West Caldwell Public Library spends $126 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
79% of the 844 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 137 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 West Caldwell Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Caldwell Township is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #84 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in West Caldwell Township
5.3 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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of West Caldwell 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 West Caldwell Township’s residents live; 2022.
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 West Caldwell Township last year.
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.
West Caldwell Public Library serves 11,012 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
113K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
37,081 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
West Caldwell Public Library, 30 Clinton Road, West Caldwell Rd..
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 West Caldwell Township? 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 $1.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Caldwell Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 4,382 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
West Caldwell Township ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roseland | Roseland Public Library fine-free | 11.1 | 48 | A |
| West Caldwell Township | West Caldwell Public Library fine-free | 10.3 | 57 | A− |
| East Hanover Township | East Hanover Twsp. Public Library | 4.6 | 65 | B− |
| Caldwell | Caldwell Free Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 44 | C |
| Fairfield Township | Fairfield Free Public Library | 4.2 | 60 | B− |
| Essex Fells | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| North Caldwell | 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 West Caldwell Township
Does West Caldwell Township have a public library?
Yes. West Caldwell Public Library, 30 Clinton Road, serves West Caldwell Township’s 11,012 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Caldwell 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 West Caldwell Township’s library?
It logged 9.6 visits and lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is West Caldwell Township’s civic life grade?
A− West Caldwell Township is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 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 West Caldwell 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.