John W. Hunter House · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Birmingham’s library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Baldwin Public Library serves 37,981 people in and around Birmingham. Last year it lent 448K books, movies and e-books and logged 224K visits.
The short version on Birmingham’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Baldwin Public Library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 9.4 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
34,462 cards for 37,981 people, or 91%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Birmingham branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
Baldwin Public Library spends $116 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Baldwin Public Library serves 37,981 people in and around Birmingham, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Birmingham’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Birmingham is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #138 of 697 in Michigan. Birmingham is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Birmingham’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
132 community nonprofits are registered in Birmingham
6.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of Birmingham’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 Birmingham’s residents live; 2022.
About 13 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Baldwin Public Library serves 37,981 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 133 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Baldwin Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
448K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
91,125 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Baldwin Public Library, 300 West Merrill Street, Birmingham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Baldwin Public Library branch.
New in Birmingham? 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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Birmingham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 34,462 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomfield Township | Bloomfield Township Public Library | 18.5 | 66 | A |
| Troy | Troy Public Library fine-free | 11.3 | 65 | B |
| Birmingham | Baldwin Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | 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.
- System-wide. Baldwin Public Library serves 37,981 people in and around Birmingham, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Birmingham.
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 Birmingham
Does Birmingham have a public library?
Yes. Baldwin Public Library, 300 West Merrill Street, serves 37,981 people in and around Birmingham (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Baldwin 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 Birmingham’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Birmingham’s civic life grade?
A− Birmingham is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #138 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 Birmingham.
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.