Photo: Coreyfein01 · CC BY-SA 4.0West Bloomfield Township’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
West Bloomfield Township Public Library serves 72,613 people in and around West Bloomfield Township from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.5M books, movies and e-books and logged 739K visits.
The short version on West Bloomfield Township’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
West Bloomfield Township Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 18 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The West Bloomfield Township branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
76% of the people it serves carry a library card
55,441 cards for 72,613 people, or 76%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; West Bloomfield Township Public Library serves 72,613 people in and around West Bloomfield Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind West Bloomfield Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Bloomfield Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #274 of 697 in Michigan. Library visits hold the grade up; West Bloomfield Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
236 community nonprofits are registered in West Bloomfield Township
3.6 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 (49 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 14 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.4%
7.4% of West Bloomfield 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 West Bloomfield Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 209 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Bloomfield Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
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.
West Bloomfield Township Public Library serves 72,613 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
196,671 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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.
2 places to borrow in West Bloomfield Township
West Bloomfield Township Public Library, 4600 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every West Bloomfield Township Public Library branch.
New in West Bloomfield Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other West Bloomfield Township Public Library branches in West Bloomfield Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Bloomfield Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.7M 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 55,441 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomfield Township | Bloomfield Township Public Library | 18.5 | 66 | A |
| Commerce Township | Commerce Township Community Library | 9.3 | 59 | C+ |
| Waterford Township | Waterford Township Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 55 | C− |
| West Bloomfield Township | West Bloomfield Township Public Library | — | 68 | B+ |
| Farmington Hills | Farmington Community Library fine-free | — | 65 | B− |
| Orchard Lake Village | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Keego Harbor | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Sylvan Lake | 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.
- System-wide. West Bloomfield Township Public Library serves 72,613 people in and around West Bloomfield Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just West Bloomfield Township.
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 West Bloomfield Township
Does West Bloomfield Township have a public library?
Yes. West Bloomfield Township Public Library, 4600 Walnut Lake Road, serves 72,613 people in and around West Bloomfield Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Bloomfield Township 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 West Bloomfield Township’s library?
It logged 10.2 visits and lent 20.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is West Bloomfield Township’s civic life grade?
B+ West Bloomfield Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #274 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 West Bloomfield 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.