Birch Run’s library logs 2.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Thomas E. Fleschner Memorial Library serves 5,888 people in and around Birch Run. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Birch Run’s library
Thomas E. Fleschner Memorial Library serves more than Birch Run
The library’s service area covers 5,888 people in and around Birch Run, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Thomas E. Fleschner Memorial Library holds 34,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Birch Run’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Birch Run is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. Birch Run is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Birch Run’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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Birch Run
2.7 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.
12.9%
12.9% of Birch Run’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 Birch Run’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Thomas E. Fleschner Memorial Library serves 5,888 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
18K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
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, 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
Thomas E. Fleschner Memorial Library, 11935 Silver Creek Drive, Birch Run.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Birch Run? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Birch Run cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $149K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $271K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $149K 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 3,833 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 Birch Run
Does Birch Run have a public library?
Yes. Thomas E. Fleschner Memorial Library, 11935 Silver Creek Drive, serves 5,888 people in and around Birch Run (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thomas E. Fleschner Memorial 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 Birch Run’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Birch Run’s civic life grade?
B+ Birch Run is ahead of 66% 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 Birch Run.
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.