Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Alanson’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Alanson Area Public Library serves 10,057 people in and around Alanson. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,200 visits.
The short version on Alanson’s library
Alanson Area Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Alanson Area Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Alanson Area Public Library offered 25 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Alanson Area Public Library spends $12 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Alanson Area Public Library serves 10,057 people in and around Alanson, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Alanson’s civic life grade
Alanson 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Alanson Area Public Library serves 10,057 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alanson Area Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,684 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
25 programs a year
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
Alanson Area Public Library, 7631 Burr Avenue, Alanson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Alanson Area Public Library branch.
New in Alanson? 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 $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alanson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $116K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $171K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $116K 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 1,743 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Alanson Area Public Library serves 10,057 people in and around Alanson, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Alanson.
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 Alanson
Does Alanson have a public library?
Yes. Alanson Area Public Library, 7631 Burr Avenue, serves 10,057 people in and around Alanson (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alanson Area 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 Alanson’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Alanson’s civic life grade?
Alanson 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 Alanson.
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.