Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0Franklin’s library lends 5.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Franklin Public Library serves 3,139 people in and around Franklin. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
What stands out about Franklin’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Franklin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Franklin is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #72 of 697 in Michigan. Franklin is graded on two of the three inputs. Both 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Franklin
4.9 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.9%
12.9% of Franklin’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 Franklin’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
9,259 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Franklin Public Library serves 3,139 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
76 programs a year
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
Franklin Public Library, 32455 Franklin Road, Franklin.
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 Franklin? 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 $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Franklin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $229K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $453K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $229K 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 1,227 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Franklin ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. 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 |
| Franklin | Franklin Public Library fine-free | 8.7 | 46 | A |
| Southfield Township | Franklin Public Library fine-free | 8.7 | 46 | A+ |
| Southfield | Southfield Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 57 | C |
| Bingham Farms | None of its own | — | — | B |
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 Franklin
Does Franklin have a public library?
Yes. Franklin Public Library, 32455 Franklin Road, serves 3,139 people in and around Franklin (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Franklin 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 Franklin’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 8.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Franklin’s civic life grade?
A Franklin is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #72 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 Franklin.
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.