Community Analysis
Introduction
The Ridgewood Public Library is a mid-sized public library located in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Ridgewood, a suburban town in Bergen County, NJ, is known for its proximity to New York City by train, while having a strong sense of community outside of urban life. (Capuzzo, nytimes.com, 2022) Ridgewood station is a stop on NJTransit’s train and bus routes, making it easy to commute North to New York City and South to other New Jersey towns. Highlights of the town include Graydon Lake, a popular swimming spot for residents in the summer and six elementary schools, two middle schools, and the Ridgewood High School, home to about 1,700 students. (Capuzzo, nytimes.com, 2022)
Ridgewood’s library was originally the George L Pease Memorial Library, established in 1923 by Gertrude Pease Anderson and was named after her father. It stood as the Village’s library until 1963 when a new building was built to be The Ridgewood Public Library at 125 Maple Avenue, next to the Village Hall. The Ridgewood Public Library has three levels, with dedicated spaces for the children’s room, quiet study spaces, and a teen space and circulation area which were both refurbished within the past year.
Demographics
Assessing the needs of the needs of the community is an important first step to understanding how to cater a library’s collection to best serve those needs. In Gregory’s Collection Development and Library Management for 21st Century Library Collections, the author states that “...the more the collection development staff knows about the work roles, general interests, education, information-seeking behavior, values, and related characteristics of potential library users, the more likely it is that the collection will be able to provide the necessary materials to those users when it is needed.” (Gregory, 2019, p13). This section will highlight the demographics of Ridgewood in an effort to assess how to best serve the needs of the community. Information has come from the decennial census from 2020 and the 2022 American Community Survey and was accessed through Census.gov.
Age
According to the US Census Bureau, Ridgewood has a population of 25,979 people.
Bergen County has a population of 955,732 people. The median age of Ridgewood residents is 40 years old, with the highest age populations being 45-49 years old and 50-54 years old. The next highest populations are made up of adolescents, aging between 10-14 years old and 15-19 years old.
Race
According to the decennial census, in 2020, out of 25,979 people, 18,246 of Ridgewood’s population was white, 4,580 were Asian, 37 were American Indian or Alaskan Native, 374 were Black or African American, 2,069 were Hispanic or Latino, 4 were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 2,269 were two or more races, and 469 were a race that wasn’t listed. According to the 2022 American Community Survey, 31.6% were foreign-born and 43.7% speak a language other than English at home.
Education and Income
78% of Ridgewood residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education. The employment rate was 63.2%. The median income is $244,006 for families and $99,459 for non-income families. 2.4% of Ridgewood’s population were in poverty in 2022.
Library Resources
The Ridgewood Public Library is a part of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System. Today, BCCLS is a consortium of 78 public libraries across 62 libraries in Bergen county, 11 in Essex county, 4 in Hudson county, and 1 in Passaic county. BCCLS libraries serve over 800,000 cardholders. (BCCLS.org, 2024)
BCCLS uses a reciprocal borrowing method across all the member libraries. The consortium utilizes the same cataloging and circulation system across libraries. Ridgewood Library patrons have access to the materials at RPL as well as the BCCLS catalog.
Additionally, Ridgewood patrons have access to RPL’s Library of Things, the Museum Pass Program, ESL services, and local history and genealogy. There are 16 databases and online resources that patrons can access online with a library card, such as EBSCOhost, Mango Languages, and NoveList Plus. RPL patrons have access to e-book apps Libby and Hoopla as well.
As of 2023 there were 45 employees at the Ridgewood Public Library. 32 are part-time employees, 13 are full-time. Additionally, the teen volunteer program offered by the Young Adult department provides opportunities for Ridgewood patrons in grades 6-12 to earn volunteer hours by helping out with collections maintenance or program assistance. In 2023 there were 366 teen volunteers in the system.
Usage Statistics
Below are usage statistics for the Ridgewood Public Library in 2023. Information was pulled from njlibstats.com.