Bellevue’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Bellevue Township Library serves 3,200 people in and around Bellevue. Last year it lent 2,150 print books and media and logged 2,840 visits.
Bellevue’s library, in brief
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 ↓
Bellevue Township Library serves more than Bellevue
The library’s service area covers 3,200 people in and around Bellevue, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Bellevue’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bellevue is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Bellevue is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bellevue’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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Bellevue
1.8 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
18.7%
18.7% of Bellevue’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’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Bellevue Township Library serves 3,200 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Bellevue Township Library, 212 North Main Street, Bellevue.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bellevue? 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 Bellevue cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $50K.
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.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- 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
Does Bellevue have a public library?
Yes. Bellevue Township Library, 212 North Main Street, serves 3,200 people in and around Bellevue (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’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’s civic life grade?
B Bellevue is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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.
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.