Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Berkley’s library lends 9.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Berkley Public Library serves Berkley’s 15,194 residents. Last year it lent 138K print books and media and logged 90K visits.
What Berkley’s library is like
Berkley uses its library more than almost any town its size
Berkley Public Library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 9.1 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Michigan for library use
Berkley ranks #5 of 91 Michigan towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 5.9 visits per resident, more than at 85% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Berkley last year. Kids & programs ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Berkley’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Berkley is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #114 of 697 in Michigan. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
68 community nonprofits are registered in Berkley
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.4%
10.4% of Berkley’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 12.4% in the typical Michigan town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Berkley’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Berkley Public Library serves 15,194 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
138K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 78K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Berkley last year.
Find it
Berkley Public Library, 3155 Coolidge Highway, Berkley.
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 Berkley? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Berkley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $685K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $685K 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 5,942 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Berkley ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Oak | Royal Oak Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 61 | B− |
| Berkley | Berkley Public Library fine-free | 9.1 | 51 | A |
| Oak Park | Oak Park Public Library | 3.5 | 49 | C |
| Huntington Woods | Huntington Woods Public Library fine-free | — | 53 | A |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Berkley
Does Berkley have a public library?
Yes. Berkley Public Library, 3155 Coolidge Highway, serves Berkley’s 15,194 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Berkley Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Berkley’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 9.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Berkley’s civic life grade?
A Berkley is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #114 of 697 in Michigan. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Berkley.
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.