W.H. Dorrance House · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · Public domainCamden’s library lends 6.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Camden Library Association serves 2,196 people in and around Camden. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Camden’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
81% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 17%. What your card is worth ↓
More library cards than residents
2,658 cards for 2,196 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Camden Library Association holds 38,000 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Camden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Camden is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #262 of 751 in New York. Camden is graded on two of the three inputs. Camden’s count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Camden
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Camden’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Camden’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
6,439 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Camden Library Association serves 2,196 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Camden Library Association, 57 Second Street, Camden.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Camden? 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 $2.86 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Camden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $119K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $339K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $119K 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 2,658 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | Camden Library Association | 9.9 | 30 | B |
| Vienna | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Florence | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Annsville | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Amboy | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Constantia | 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 Camden
Does Camden have a public library?
Yes. Camden Library Association, 57 Second Street, serves 2,196 people in and around Camden (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Camden Library Association 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 Camden’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Camden’s civic life grade?
B Camden is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #262 of 751 in New York. 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 Camden.
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.