Photo: Dave Parker · CC BY 3.0Plymouth’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Plymouth District Library serves 37,308 people in and around Plymouth. Last year it lent 725K books, movies and e-books and logged 225K visits.
The short version on Plymouth’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Plymouth District Library logs 6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
35,558 cards for 37,308 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 21% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Plymouth District Library spends $114 per resident a year, about three times 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; Plymouth District Library serves 37,308 people in and around Plymouth, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Plymouth’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Plymouth is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #121 of 697 in Michigan. Plymouth 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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Plymouth
5.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (9 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.
9.8%
9.8% of Plymouth’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 Plymouth’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Plymouth District Library serves 37,308 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 233 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Plymouth District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
725K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
149,984 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Plymouth District Library, 223 South Main Street, Plymouth.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Plymouth District Library branch.
New in Plymouth? 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 Plymouth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 35,558 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Plymouth District Library serves 37,308 people in and around Plymouth, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Plymouth.
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 Plymouth
Does Plymouth have a public library?
Yes. Plymouth District Library, 223 South Main Street, serves 37,308 people in and around Plymouth (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Plymouth 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 Plymouth’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 19.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Plymouth’s civic life grade?
A− Plymouth is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #121 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 Plymouth.
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.