Photo: User:Bryan Duggan · CC BY-SA 3.0Brandon Township’s library runs 67 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Brandon Township Public Library serves Brandon Township’s 15,384 residents. Last year it lent 91K print books and media and logged 38K visits.
Brandon Township’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Brandon Township Public Library ran 1,030 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 67 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 21,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 1,030 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5 a week for ages 0–5. 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.
What’s behind Brandon Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brandon Township is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #482 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Brandon 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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Brandon Township
2.8 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 (9 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.
11.6%
11.6% of Brandon 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 Brandon Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 15 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Brandon Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Brandon Township Public Library serves 15,384 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 32 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
91K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Brandon Township Public Library, 304 South Street, Ortonville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Brandon Township? 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 $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brandon Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 6,084 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Brandon Township ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford Township | Oxford Public Library fine-free | 8.8 | 59 | A− |
| Independence Township | Clarkston Independence District Library fine-free | 7.2 | 61 | C+ |
| Brandon Township | Brandon Township Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 56 | B− |
| Hadley Township | Hadley Branch Library fine-free | — | 35 | A− |
| Groveland Township | None 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).
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 Brandon Township
Does Brandon Township have a public library?
Yes. Brandon Township Public Library, 304 South Street, serves Brandon Township’s 15,384 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brandon Township Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Brandon Township’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 5.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Brandon Township’s civic life grade?
B− Brandon Township is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #482 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 Brandon 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.