Civil War Memorial · Photo: Notorious4life · Public domainAdrian’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Adrian District Library serves Adrian’s 20,645 residents. Last year it lent 89K books, movies and e-books and logged 92K visits.
The short version on Adrian’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Adrian Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. Today’s library there has 37,200 square feet. The buildings ↓
Top 10% in Michigan for library use
Adrian ranks #9 of 91 Michigan towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 4.4 visits per resident, more than at 71% of similar-size libraries nationwide. 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.
What’s behind Adrian’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Adrian is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #253 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Adrian’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 →
70 community nonprofits are registered in Adrian
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.7%
10.7% of Adrian’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 Adrian’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Adrian District Library serves 20,645 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
13,164 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Adrian last year.
A National Register landmark since 1977
Adrian Public Library, 143 East Maumee Street, Adrian.
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 Adrian? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Adrian Public Library
Adrian Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 6, 1977. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
The Adrian Public Library is a historic structure located at 110 East Church Street in downtown Adrian, Michigan. Originally used as a library, it was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on December 14, 1976, and later listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 1977. It is located within the Downtown Adrian Commercial Historic District and adjacent to the Adrian Engine House No. 1.
More about the building →Other libraries in Adrian
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Adrian cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 6,201 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian | Adrian Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 56 | B+ |
| Adrian Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Madison Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Adrian District Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Adrian
Does Adrian have a public library?
Yes. Adrian District Library, 143 East Maumee Street, serves Adrian’s 20,645 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Adrian District 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 Adrian’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Adrian’s civic life grade?
B+ Adrian is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #253 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 Adrian.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.