Photo: Ton2cats · CC BY-SA 3.0West Deptford Township’s library lends 2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
West Deptford Free Public Library serves West Deptford Township’s 22,197 residents. Last year it lent 54K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
What West Deptford Township’s library is like
West Deptford Township out-borrows every town next door
At 2.4 loans per resident, West Deptford Township leads the six towns here. The closest is Thorofare, at 2.4. Libraries next door ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
West Deptford Free Public Library holds 97,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Deptford Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Deptford Township is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #339 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($70K–$117K) 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in West Deptford Township
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.2%
6.2% of West Deptford 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 Deptford Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
West Deptford Free Public Library serves 22,197 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
54K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 97K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
9,903 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Deptford Township last year.
Find it
West Deptford Public Library, 420 Crown Point Road, Thorofare.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in West Deptford Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Deptford Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $934K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $904K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $934K 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 8,933 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
West Deptford Township borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Deptford Township | West Deptford Public Library | 2.4 | 52 | C− |
| Thorofare | West Deptford Public Library | 2.4 | 52 | — graded as part of its town |
| Deptford Township | James H. Johnson Memorial Library | 2.3 | 53 | C− |
| Woodbury | Woodbury Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 45 | C− |
| Westville | Westville Public Library | 1.1 | 30 | C− |
| Paulsboro | Gill Memorial Library | 0.3 | 30 | D |
| Philadelphia | Free Library of Philadelphia fine-free | — | 49 | D |
| East Greenwich Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| National Park | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Mantua Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Mount Royal | 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 West Deptford Township
Does West Deptford Township have a public library?
Yes. West Deptford Free Public Library, 420 Crown Point Road, serves West Deptford Township’s 22,197 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Deptford Free 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 West Deptford Township’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is West Deptford Township’s civic life grade?
C− West Deptford Township is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #339 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 Deptford 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.