Flat Rock’s library runs 10 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Flat Rock Public Library serves 18,778 people in and around Flat Rock. Last year it lent 60K books, movies and e-books and logged 44K visits.
What Flat Rock’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Flat Rock Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 191 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people Flat Rock Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Flat Rock Public Library serves more than Flat Rock
The library’s service area covers 18,778 people in and around Flat Rock, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 53% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Flat Rock’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Flat Rock is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #621 of 697 in Michigan. Flat Rock is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Flat Rock’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$102K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Flat Rock
1.8 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Flat Rock’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 Flat Rock’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Flat Rock Public Library serves 18,778 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
60K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
9,787 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Flat Rock Public Library, 25200 Gibraltar Road, Flat Rock.
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 Flat Rock? 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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Flat Rock cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $472K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $896K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $472K 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 2,942 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat Rock | Flat Rock Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 44 | C |
| Berlin Township | Newport Branch Library fine-free | — | 34 | C |
| South Rockwood | South Rockwood Branch Library fine-free | — | 27 | C |
| Rockwood | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Brownstown Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Woodhaven | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Huron Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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 Flat Rock
Does Flat Rock have a public library?
Yes. Flat Rock Public Library, 25200 Gibraltar Road, serves 18,778 people in and around Flat Rock (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Flat Rock 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 Flat Rock’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Flat Rock’s civic life grade?
C Flat Rock is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on civic life, #621 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 Flat Rock.
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.