Eugene P. Robertson House · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0Albion’s library runs 15 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Albion District Library serves 10,460 people in and around Albion. Last year it lent 36K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
The short version on Albion’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Albion District Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. 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; Albion District Library serves 10,460 people in and around Albion, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Albion’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Albion is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #15 of 697 in Michigan. Albion is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Albion near the top nationally; Albion’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
63 community nonprofits are registered in Albion
8.3 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.4%
12.4% of Albion’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 Albion’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Albion District Library serves 10,460 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Albion District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,398 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Albion District Library, 501 South Superior Street, Albion.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Albion District Library branch.
New in Albion? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Albion cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $700K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $580K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $700K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,845 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albion | Albion District Library | — | 43 | A+ |
| Sheridan Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Albion 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.
- System-wide. Albion District Library serves 10,460 people in and around Albion, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Albion.
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 Albion
Does Albion have a public library?
Yes. Albion District Library, 501 South Superior Street, serves 10,460 people in and around Albion (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Albion District Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Albion’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Albion’s civic life grade?
A+ Albion is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 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 Albion.
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.