Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0Northfield Township’s library lends 8.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Northfield Township Area Library serves Northfield Township’s 8,697 residents. Last year it lent 76K print books and media and logged 19K visits.
The short version on Northfield Township’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 64%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 21 items per child in Northfield Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 Northfield Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Northfield Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #582 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Northfield Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($71K–$118K) 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Northfield Township
2.0 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.0%
11.0% of Northfield Township’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 Northfield Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Northfield Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Northfield Township Area Library serves 8,697 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
76K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Northfield Township Area Library, 125 Barker Road, Whitmore Lake.
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 Northfield Township? 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 $2.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northfield Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $482K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $482K 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 5,239 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield Township | Northfield Township Area Library fine-free | 8.7 | 49 | C+ |
| Whitmore Lake | Northfield Township Area Library fine-free | 8.7 | 49 | — graded as part of its town |
| Salem Township | Salem-South Lyon District Library | — | 58 | B+ |
| Webster Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Green Oak Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Ann Arbor 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Northfield Township
Does Northfield Township have a public library?
Yes. Northfield Township Area Library, 125 Barker Road, serves Northfield Township’s 8,697 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northfield Township Area 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 Northfield Township’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 8.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Northfield Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Northfield Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #582 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 Northfield Township.
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.