Photo: Jacob S. grafitti 14:52, 18 March 2010 (UTC) · CC BY 3.0Hazel Park’s library lends 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hazel Park Memorial District Library serves Hazel Park’s 14,983 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 44K visits.
Hazel Park’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Hazel Park Memorial District Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Hazel Park Memorial District Library holds 77,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Hazel Park’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hazel Park is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #527 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Hazel Park’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$84K) 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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Hazel Park
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.5%
9.5% of Hazel Park’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 Hazel Park’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hazel Park Memorial District Library serves 14,983 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 77K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
11,427 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Hazel Park last year.
Find it
Hazel Park Memorial Library, 123 East Nine Mile Road, Hazel Park.
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 Hazel Park? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hazel Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $789K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $666K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $789K 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 3,224 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hazel Park ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. 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− |
| Warren | Civic Center Library | 4.7 | 50 | D |
| Madison Heights | Madison Heights Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 51 | C |
| Hazel Park | Hazel Park Memorial Library fine-free | 2.4 | 42 | C+ |
| Detroit | Detroit Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 51 | D |
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 Hazel Park
Does Hazel Park have a public library?
Yes. Hazel Park Memorial District Library, 123 East Nine Mile Road, serves Hazel Park’s 14,983 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hazel Park Memorial 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 Hazel Park’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hazel Park’s civic life grade?
C+ Hazel Park is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life, #527 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 Hazel Park.
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.