Brown City’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Brown City District Library serves 3,855 people in and around Brown City. Last year it logged 4,010 visits.
The short version on Brown City’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Brown City District Library spends $14 per resident, less than 92% 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; Brown City District Library serves 3,855 people in and around Brown City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Brown City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brown City is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Brown City is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Brown City’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 Brown City
2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
16.9%
16.9% of Brown City’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 Brown City’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.
Brown City District Library serves 3,855 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Brown City District Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brown City District Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Brown City District Library, 4222 Main Street, Brown City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Brown City District Library branch.
New in Brown City? 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 Brown City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $54K.
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 630 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown City | Brown City District Library fine-free | — | 32 | B |
| Maple Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Burnside 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.
- Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Brown City District Library serves 3,855 people in and around Brown City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brown City.
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 Brown City
Does Brown City have a public library?
Yes. Brown City District Library, 4222 Main Street, serves 3,855 people in and around Brown City (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brown City District 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 Brown City’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Brown City’s civic life grade?
B Brown City is ahead of 65% 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 Brown City.
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.