South Berrien Center Union Church and Cemetery · Photo: Fotoguy49057 · Public domainBerrien Township’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Eau Claire District Library serves 7,026 people in and around Berrien Township. Last year it lent 9,107 print books and media and logged 5,623 visits.
The short version on Berrien Township’s library
Eau Claire District Library is used less than most libraries its size
Eau Claire District Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Eau Claire District Library offered 41 programs last year, 5.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Eau Claire District Library serves 7,026 people in and around Berrien Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Berrien Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Berrien Township is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #490 of 697 in Michigan. Berrien Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Berrien Township’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Berrien Township
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.5%
9.5% of Berrien 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 Berrien Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Eau Claire District Library serves 7,026 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eau Claire District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
9,107 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.
41 programs a year
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
Eau Claire District Library, 6528 East Main Street, Eau Claire.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Eau Claire District Library branch.
New in Berrien Township? 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 Berrien Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $273K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $164K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $273K 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 5,805 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berrien Township | Eau Claire District Library | — | 46 | B− |
| Oronoko Township | Berrien Springs Community Library | — | 54 | B− |
| Berrien Springs | Berrien Springs Community Library | — | 54 | B |
| Pipestone Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Pokagon Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Niles 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Eau Claire District Library serves 7,026 people in and around Berrien Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Berrien 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 Berrien Township
Does Berrien Township have a public library?
Yes. Eau Claire District Library, 6528 East Main Street, serves 7,026 people in and around Berrien Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eau Claire 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 Berrien Township’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Berrien Township’s civic life grade?
B− Berrien Township is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #490 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 Berrien 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.