Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 3.0Benzonia Township’s library logs 6.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Benzonia Public Library serves 3,553 people in and around Benzonia Township. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
What stands out about Benzonia Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Benzonia Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Benzonia Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #27 of 697 in Michigan. Benzonia Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Benzonia Township’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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Benzonia Township
7.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.5%
11.5% of Benzonia 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 Benzonia Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Benzonia Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Benzonia Public Library serves 3,553 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
22K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
2 places to borrow in Benzonia Township
Benzonia Public Library, 891 Michigan Avenue, Benzonia.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Benzonia Public Library branch.
New in Benzonia Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Benzonia Public Library branches in Benzonia Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Benzonia Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $122K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $415K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $122K 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 2,724 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzonia Township | Benzonia Public Library | — | 44 | A+ |
| Weldon Township | Betsie Valley District Library | — | 38 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lake Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Joyfield Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Homestead Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Crystal Lake Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Platte Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Benzonia Public Library serves 3,553 people in and around Benzonia Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Benzonia Township.
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 Benzonia Township
Does Benzonia Township have a public library?
Yes. Benzonia Public Library, 891 Michigan Avenue, serves 3,553 people in and around Benzonia Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Benzonia Public 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 Benzonia Township’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 6.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Benzonia Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Benzonia Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 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 Benzonia Township.
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.