Fords Branch
Fords Branch serves 103,639 people in and around Fords. Last year it lent 375K books, movies and e-books and logged 245K visits.
What stands out about Fords Branch
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
About 24 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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 42 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Strongest at programs offered
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Fords Branch serves 103,639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
375K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 362K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
64,647 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fords cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.3M 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 23,766 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Fords Branch, 211 Ford Avenue, Fords.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fords? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Fords ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edison | Edison Twsp. Free Public Lib fine-free | 5.6 | 68 |
| Fords | Fords Branch | 3.6 | 52 |
| Woodbridge | Woodbridge Public Library | 3.6 | 68 |
| Keasbey | None of its own | — | — |
| Hopelawn | None of its own | — | — |
| Menlo Park Terrace | None of its own | — | — |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- 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.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Fords.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.