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Library · Middlebush

Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset

Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset serves 68,364 people in and around Middlebush. Last year it lent 325K books, movies and e-books and logged 75K visits.

485 Demott Lane, Somerset 08873 · about 61 hours a week
Borrowed a year
325K
4.8 per resident
Visits a year
75K
1.1 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
1,491
about 29 a week · 30K attended
Cardholders
36%
24,935 cards
Open
61 hrs
a week

What stands out about Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The building

Find it

Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset, 485 Demott Lane, Somerset.

61
hours open a week
36,313
square feet
156K
books & media
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Middlebush? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 48 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

75K
visits
1.1 per resident
325K
loans, print + digital
4.8 per resident
1,491
programs & events
30K attended
25K
library cards
36% of people served
Every open hour48items borrowed
Every week571people at a program
Every week1,438visits
28 staff (full-time equivalent)23 public computers156K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Close to typical for its size

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 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.

Visits per resident 1.1 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 87%
Borrowing per resident 3.6 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 51%
Digital borrowing 1.2 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 50%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 57%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 65%
Programs offered 21.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 73%
Cardholders 36% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 57%
Spending $45 per resident · typical $40Higher than 57%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In New Jersey
#238 of 264

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset serves 68,364 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

325K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

325Kloans
Books & media (adults) 46%Kids’ books & media 29%E-books, audio & streaming 25%
How hard the shelves work
1.6×

Each of the 156K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.

From your couch

80,334 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 13 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Middlebush →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5417
Ages 6–11234
Teens66
Adults544
All ages230
Little ones
8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

95K
kids’ books & media borrowed
30K
people at programs
1,491
programs
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.67 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Middlebush cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$45 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.1M.

Local taxes 98%State 1%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 24,935 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
MiddlebushFranklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset4.861
SomersetNone of its own——
Six Mile RunNone of its own——
Franklin CenterNone of its own——
East MillstoneNone 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 Middlebush.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset one of the best things about Middlebush?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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