Photo: Scott Nazelrod · Public domainSouth Haven’s library runs 16 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
South Haven Township Library serves 492 people in and around South Haven. Last year it lent 1,333 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,024 visits.
The short version on South Haven’s library
Open only about 11 hours a week
South Haven Township Library keeps short hours: about 11 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, South Haven Township Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
South Haven Township Library serves 492 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people South Haven Township Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
South Haven Township Library serves more than South Haven
The library’s service area covers 492 people in and around South Haven, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind South Haven’s civic life grade
South Haven 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
South Haven Township Library serves 492 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,333 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,101 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
196 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 programs a year
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
South Haven Township Library, 104 W. Baird, South Haven.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Haven? 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 $2.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Haven cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $7,309.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $20K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7,309 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 65 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 South Haven
Does South Haven have a public library?
Yes. South Haven Township Library, 104 W. Baird, serves 492 people in and around South Haven (the survey’s count) and is open about 11 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Haven Township 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 South Haven’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is South Haven’s civic life grade?
South Haven 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 South Haven.
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.