Photo: KForce at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0West Milford Township’s library logs 3.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
West Milford Township Library serves West Milford Township’s 24,862 residents. Last year it lent 143K books, movies and e-books and logged 88K visits.
What stands out about West Milford Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind West Milford Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Milford Township is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #97 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
126 community nonprofits are registered in West Milford Township
5.1 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.1%
10.1% of West Milford 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 Milford Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
West Milford Township Library serves 24,862 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
143K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 57K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
30,761 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Milford Township last year.
Find it
West Milford Twsp. Library, 1470 Union Valley Road, W. Milford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in West Milford 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 $2.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Milford Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 8,342 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
West Milford Township ranks 4th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinnelon | Kinnelon Public Library | 9.5 | 51 | A− |
| Ringwood | Ringwood Public Library fine-free | 7.4 | 55 | A |
| Rockaway Township | Rockaway Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 7.2 | 62 | C |
| West Milford Township | West Milford Twsp. Library | 5.7 | 59 | A− |
| Jefferson Township | Jefferson Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 5.4 | 72 | C |
| Oak Ridge | Jefferson Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 5.4 | 72 | — graded as part of its town |
| Butler | Butler Public Library | 4.4 | 55 | C+ |
| Bloomingdale | Bloomingdale Free Public Library | 3.6 | 50 | D |
| Vernon Township | Dorothy Henry Branch fine-free | — | 54 | B+ |
| Newfoundland | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Macopin | 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 Milford Township
Does West Milford Township have a public library?
Yes. West Milford Township Library, 1470 Union Valley Road, serves West Milford Township’s 24,862 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Milford Township 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 Milford Township’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 5.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is West Milford Township’s civic life grade?
A− West Milford Township is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #97 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 Milford 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.