Photo: Traveler100 · CC BY-SA 3.0Romulus’ library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Romulus Public Library serves 42,122 people in and around Romulus. Last year it lent 64K books, movies and e-books and logged 49K visits.
Romulus’s library, in brief
Romulus Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Romulus Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $23 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Romulus Public Library serves more than Romulus
The library’s service area covers 42,122 people in and around Romulus, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 375 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.9 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Romulus’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Romulus is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #673 of 697 in Michigan. Romulus is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Romulus’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Romulus Public Library spends $23 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
61 community nonprofits are registered in Romulus
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 (34 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.
5.6%
5.6% of Romulus’ 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 Romulus’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Romulus Public Library serves 42,122 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
19,454 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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.
Find it
Romulus Public Library, 11121 Wayne Road, Romulus.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Romulus? 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 $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Romulus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $955K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $955K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 8,324 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Romulus ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne | Wayne Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 48 | C |
| Taylor | Taylor Community Library fine-free | 2.5 | 52 | D |
| Romulus | Romulus Public Library | 1.5 | 58 | D |
| Huron Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Van Buren 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.
- 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 Romulus
Does Romulus have a public library?
Yes. Romulus Public Library, 11121 Wayne Road, serves 42,122 people in and around Romulus (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Romulus Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Romulus’ library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Romulus’ civic life grade?
D Romulus is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #673 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 Romulus.
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.