Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Bay City’s library is a branch of Bay County Library System, which lends more per resident than 74% of systems its size
Bay City’s library is the Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library, a branch of Bay County Library System, which serves 103,758 people and lent 650K items last year.
What Bay City’s library is like
Programs draw a crowd
60,000 people came to the system’s 1,783 programs last year: 0.6 per resident, against a typical 0.2, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 1,783 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Bay City’s library is a branch of Bay County Library System, so they cover the whole system (103,758 people), not just the Bay City branch.
What’s behind Bay City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bay City is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #448 of 697 in Michigan. Bay City is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bay City’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 →
105 community nonprofits are registered in Bay City
3.3 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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Bay City’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 Bay City’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Bay County Library System serves 103,758 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 62 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bay County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
650K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
87,897 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Bay City
Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library, 500 Center Avenue, Bay City.
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 Bay County Library System branch.
New in Bay City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Bay County Library System branches in Bay City
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bay City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.5M 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 44,851 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay City | Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | B− |
| Bangor Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Portsmouth Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Frankenlust Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Hampton Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Essexville | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Monitor Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library is one branch of Bay County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 103,758 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 Bay City
Does Bay City have a public library?
Yes: Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library, 500 Center Avenue, is a branch of Bay County Library System, which serves 103,758 people. The branch is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bay County Library System 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 Bay City’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 6.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bay City’s civic life grade?
B− Bay City is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life, #448 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 Bay City.
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.