Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0Ferndale’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Ferndale Area District Library serves Ferndale’s 19,190 residents. Last year it lent 314K books, movies and e-books and logged 85K visits.
Ferndale’s library, in brief
Ferndale’s kids borrow the most in Michigan
Out of 91 Michigan towns with a library of their own, Ferndale comes first for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #3 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
Ferndale out-borrows every town next door
At 16 loans per resident, Ferndale leads the five towns here. The closest is Royal Oak, at 9.4. Libraries next door ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 29% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Ferndale is a town of borrowers
Ferndale Area District Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Ferndale invests in its library
Ferndale Area District Library spends $123 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) 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.
What’s behind Ferndale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ferndale is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #171 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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in Ferndale
3.9 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 (30 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.
12.6%
12.6% of Ferndale’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 Ferndale’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
314K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 76K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
89,975 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Ferndale Area District Library serves 19,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 104 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 3 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 Ferndale last year.
Find it
Ferndale Public Library, 222 East Nine Mile Road, Ferndale.
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 Ferndale? 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 $2.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ferndale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 7,954 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ferndale borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale | Ferndale Public Library fine-free | 16.4 | 58 | A− |
| Royal Oak | Royal Oak Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 61 | B− |
| Oak Park | Oak Park Public Library | 3.5 | 49 | C |
| Hazel Park | Hazel Park Memorial Library fine-free | 2.4 | 42 | C+ |
| Detroit | Detroit Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 51 | D |
| Royal Oak Township | Royal Oak Township Public Library | — | — | C+ |
| Pleasant Ridge | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- 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.
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 Ferndale
Does Ferndale have a public library?
Yes. Ferndale Area District Library, 222 East Nine Mile Road, serves Ferndale’s 19,190 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ferndale Area District 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 Ferndale’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 16.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Ferndale’s civic life grade?
A− Ferndale is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #171 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 Ferndale.
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.