Grosse Pointe Woods’ library is a branch of Grosse Pointe Public Library, which lends more per resident than 68% of systems its size
Grosse Pointe Woods’s library is the Grosse Pointe Woods Public Library, a branch of Grosse Pointe Public Library, which serves 52,496 people and lent 622K items last year.
Grosse Pointe Woods’s library, in brief
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 52% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 48%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The Grosse Pointe Woods branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
The Grosse Pointe Public Library system spends $104 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) 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; Grosse Pointe Woods’s library is a branch of Grosse Pointe Public Library, so they cover the whole system (52,496 people), not just the Grosse Pointe Woods branch.
What’s behind Grosse Pointe Woods’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grosse Pointe Woods is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #176 of 697 in Michigan. Grosse Pointe Woods is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Grosse Pointe Woods’ 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 →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Grosse Pointe Woods
6.2 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 (11 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.
8.1%
8.1% of Grosse Pointe Woods’ 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 Grosse Pointe Woods’ residents live; 2022.
52% of borrowing is digital
622K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
325,119 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Grosse Pointe Public Library serves 52,496 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grosse Pointe Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 6 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.
Find it
Grosse Pointe Woods Public Library, 20680 Mack Avenue, Grosse Pointe Woods.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Grosse Pointe Public Library branch.
New in Grosse Pointe Woods? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grosse Pointe Woods cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.5M 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 24,953 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Woods | Harper Woods Public Library | 1.1 | 36 | D |
| Detroit | Detroit Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 51 | D |
| Grosse Pointe Woods | Grosse Pointe Woods Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | A− |
| Grosse Pointe Farms | Grosse Pointe Public Library fine-free | — | 62 | A− |
| Village of Grosse Pointe Shores | 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.
- System-wide. Grosse Pointe Woods Public Library is one branch of Grosse Pointe Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 52,496 people it serves.
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 Grosse Pointe Woods
Does Grosse Pointe Woods have a public library?
Yes: Grosse Pointe Woods Public Library, 20680 Mack Avenue, is a branch of Grosse Pointe Public Library, which serves 52,496 people. The branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grosse Pointe 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 Grosse Pointe Woods’ library?
It logged 4.9 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 Grosse Pointe Woods’ civic life grade?
A− Grosse Pointe Woods is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #176 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 Grosse Pointe Woods.
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.