Photo: Derek Jensen (Tysto) · CC BY 2.0Lakeville’s library is a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 88% of systems its size
Lakeville’s library is the Lakeville Branch, a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, which serves 170,799 people and lent 2.1M items last year.
Lakeville’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The St. Joseph County Public Library system logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 7.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 35% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The St. Joseph County Public Library system spends $107 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. 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; Lakeville’s library is a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (170,799 people), not just the Lakeville branch.
What’s behind Lakeville’s civic life grade
Lakeville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 74 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Joseph County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
St. Joseph County Public Library serves 170,799 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
723,590 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 23 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.
Find it
Lakeville Branch, 120 North Michigan Street, Lakeville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every St. Joseph County Public Library branch.
New in Lakeville? 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 $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lakeville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $18M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $18M 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 72,558 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lakeville Branch is one branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 170,799 people it serves.
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 Lakeville
Does Lakeville have a public library?
Yes: Lakeville Branch, 120 North Michigan Street, is a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, which serves 170,799 people. The branch is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Joseph County Public 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 Lakeville’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 12.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lakeville’s civic life grade?
Lakeville 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 Lakeville.
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.