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Main Street, NorthvillePhoto: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0
Northville Public Library

Northville’s library runs 68 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Northville Public Library serves 2,835 people in and around Northville. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.

341 South Third Street, Northville 12134 · about 32 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
15K
5.2 per resident
Visits a year
11K
3.9 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
193
about 4 a week · 2,162 attended
Cardholders
52%
1,477 cards
Open
32 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Northville Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Northville’s civic life grade

Northville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Northville’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.9 visits · typical 3Higher than 63%
Borrowing per resident 4.3 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 55%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1Lower than 56%
Kids’ borrowing 1.3 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 59%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 67%
Programs offered 68.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 80%
Cardholders 52% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 64%
Spending $53 per resident · typical $43Higher than 63%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Northville Public Library serves 2,835 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northville Public Library system. The library’s own count.

11K
visits
3.9 per resident
15K
loans, print + digital
5.2 per resident
193
programs & events
2,162 attended
1,477
library cards
52% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week42people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

15Kloans
Books & media (adults) 59%Kids’ books & media 25%E-books, audio & streaming 16%
From your couch

2,397 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.

Kids & programs

193 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Northville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–516
Ages 6–1122
Teens12
Adults139
All ages4
Little ones
0.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

3,620
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,162
people at programs
193
programs
The building

Find it

Northville Public Library, 341 South Third Street, Northville.

32
hours open a week
5,080
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Northville Public Library branch.

New in Northville? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.66 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northville cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$53 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $151K.

Local taxes 97%State 1%Gifts & other 2%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $250K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $151K 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 1,477 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Northville Public Library serves 2,835 people in and around Northville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Northville.

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 Northville

Does Northville have a public library?

Yes. Northville Public Library, 341 South Third Street, serves 2,835 people in and around Northville (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Northville Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Northville’s library?

It logged 3.9 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Northville’s civic life grade?

Northville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Northville.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.