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Bellevue MillBellevue Mill · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0
Bellevue Township Library

Bellevue Township’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Bellevue Township Library serves Bellevue Township’s 3,200 residents. Last year it lent 2,150 print books and media and logged 2,840 visits.

212 North Main Street, Bellevue 49021 · about 35 hours a week
CCivic lifeAhead of 34% of U.S. towns · #600 of 697 in Michigan. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
2,150
0.7 per resident
Visits a year
2,840
0.9 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
8
about 1 a week
Cardholders
79%
2,525 cards
Open
35 hrs
a week
In brief

What Bellevue Township’s library is like

Bellevue Township Library is used less than most libraries its size

Bellevue Township Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $16 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Kids’ books are most of what goes out

Children’s books and media make up 100% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 77% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓

Runs on less money than most

Bellevue Township Library spends $16 per resident, less than 90% 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Bellevue Township’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bellevue Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #600 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.

C
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Bellevue Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 34%
FewerMore
Michigan towns we grade (697)Ahead of 14%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $63K–$105K (8,866)Ahead of 33%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($63K–$105K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to B. Bellevue Township is small (3,218 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

7 community nonprofits are registered in Bellevue Township

2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.19 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

18.5%

18.5% of Bellevue Township’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 Bellevue Township’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.9 visits · typical 3Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.7 print items · typical 3.8Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 77%
Programs offered 2.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Bottom 10%
Cardholders 79% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 84%
Spending $16 per resident · typical $43Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in MI#81Most-used librariesof 91 towns
#82Most library borrowingof 88 towns
#70Best libraries for kidsof 91 towns
Size group

Bellevue Township Library serves 3,200 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

2,840
visits
0.9 per resident
2,150
loans, print + digital
0.7 per resident
8
programs & events
2,525
library cards
79% of people served
Every open hour1items borrowed
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)2 public computers17K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

2,150 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

2,150loans
Books & media (adults) 0%Kids’ books & media 100%
How hard the shelves work
0.1×

Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.

From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

8 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Bellevue Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–50
Ages 6–118
Teens0
Adults0
All ages0
Kids’ books
4

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bellevue Township last year.

The building

Find it

Bellevue Township Library, 212 North Main Street, Bellevue.

35
hours open a week
880
square feet
17K
books & media
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Bellevue Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bellevue Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$16 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $50K.

Local taxes 93%State 6%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $27K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 2,525 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Bellevue TownshipBellevue Township Library0.735C
Walton TownshipNone of its own——A−
Assyria TownshipNone of its own——B
Kalamo TownshipNone of its own——B
Convis TownshipNone 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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Visits are a typical-week estimate. Bellevue Township Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
  • Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.

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 Bellevue Township

Does Bellevue Township have a public library?

Yes. Bellevue Township Library, 212 North Main Street, serves Bellevue Township’s 3,200 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Bellevue Township 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 Bellevue Township’s library?

It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Bellevue Township’s civic life grade?

C Bellevue Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #600 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 Bellevue Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.