Jersey City Free Public Library
Jersey City Free Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Jersey City (Hudson County), New Jersey, serving a legal service area of 292,449 residents through 11 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 262 profiled systems in New Jersey, it ranks fifth for operating spending, seventh for population served and eighth for total visits.
Against the median system of its size class, it records only 36% of the physical checkouts per resident and 42% less program attendance per resident.
Jersey City against the 122 systems of its size class
Jersey City in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 563,142
- Physical checkouts
- 372,313
- …of children's materials
- 260,686
- Electronic checkouts
- 177,305
- …of e-books
- 36,588
- …of e-audio
- 73,836
- Registered users
- 170,517
- Program sessions
- 2,737
- Program attendance
- 33,758
- Print volumes
- 391,946
- Audio items (physical)
- 3,407
- Video items (physical)
- 15,897
- Public computers
- 201
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 23,678
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 115.1
- Operating spending
- $15.5 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.4 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Jersey City gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $17.6 million, or $60.22 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 262 profiled systems in New Jersey. Federal money made up 1.3% of the total.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Plano Public Library System in Texas.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County Library System | Murfreesboro, TN | 327,503 | 1.74 | 4.18 | $11.64 |
| Lincoln City Libraries | Lincoln, NE | 326,716 | 2.52 | 6.28 | $37.41 |
| Plano Public Library System | Plano, TX | 290,190 | 5.96 | 8.58 | $53.97 |
| Chandler Public Library | Chandler, AZ | 286,342 | 2.39 | 4.87 | $23.55 |
| Chula Vista Public Library | Chula Vista, CA | 278,247 | 0.54 | 1.58 | $11.04 |
| Glendale Public Library | Glendale, AZ | 260,878 | 1.78 | 3.76 | $29.18 |
Who comes to Jersey City programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 65% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 12 people each.
Nearest in size within New Jersey
- Newark Public Library · Newark · 311,549 residents
- Camden County Library · Voorhees · 324,221 residents
- Burlington County Library · Westampton · 363,983 residents
- Somerset County Library · Bridgewater · 224,243 residents
Jersey City, building by building
The 10 buildings cover 163,826 square feet in total, 0.56 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Jersey City Public Library at 87,118 square feet; the smallest is West Bergen Branch at 1,342. The longest hours are at Jersey City Public Library, 60 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey City Public Library | Central library | Jersey City | 60 | 87,118 |
| Communipaw Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 48 | 7,650 |
| Five Corners Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 48 | 11,430 |
| Glenn D. Cunningham Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 48 | 5,626 |
| Greenville Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 48 | 19,404 |
| Hudson City Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 48 | 8,522 |
| Marion Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 40 | 1,574 |
| Miller Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 48 | 18,060 |
| Pavonia Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 48 | 3,100 |
| West Bergen Branch | Branch | Jersey City | 40 | 1,342 |
| Jersey City Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Jersey City | 16 |