Wayne Public Library
Wayne Public Library serves 54,838 people in and around Preakness. Last year it lent 356K books, movies and e-books and logged 197K visits.
What stands out about Wayne Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
About 11 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Preakness cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 17,750 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Wayne Public Library, 461 Valley Road, Wayne.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Preakness? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Every hour the doors are open, about 103 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
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.
library systems for visits per resident.
Wayne Public Library serves 54,838 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
356K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 170K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
57,382 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Libraries next door
Preakness borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preakness | Wayne Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 67 |
| Wayne | Wayne Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 67 |
| Totowa | Dwight D. Eisenhower Library fine-free | 2.9 | 46 |
| Haledon | Haledon Public Library | — | — |
| William Paterson University of New Jersey | None of its own | — | — |
| Packanack Lake | 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 Preakness.
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.