Burlington Township’s library logs 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Burlington Township Library serves Burlington Township’s 1,957 residents. Last year it lent 668 books, movies and e-books and logged 411 visits.
What Burlington Township’s library is like
Burlington Township Library is used less than most libraries its size
Burlington Township Library records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
Burlington Township Library keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Athens Community Library in Athens Township, next door, is open about 46 hours a week. The building ↓
A small-town library
Burlington Township Library serves 1,957 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Most of Burlington Township’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 56% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Burlington Township Library spends $10 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Burlington Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Burlington Township is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$93K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 Burlington Township
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.1%
13.1% of Burlington 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 Burlington Township’s residents live; 2022.
56% of borrowing is digital
668 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,533 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0 time last year, on average.
376 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Burlington Township Library serves 1,957 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Burlington Township Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
24 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Burlington Township last year.
Find it
Burlington Township Library, 135 Elm Street, Burlington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Burlington 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 $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burlington Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $20K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $20K 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 1,340 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens Township | Athens Community Library fine-free | 3.2 | 46 | B+ |
| Burlington Township | Burlington Township Library fine-free | 0.3 | 18 | C |
| Tekonsha Township | Tekonsha Township Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | A− |
| Union Township | Union Township Library Branch fine-free | — | 40 | B |
| Newton 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Burlington Township
Does Burlington Township have a public library?
Yes. Burlington Township Library, 135 Elm Street, serves Burlington Township’s 1,957 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Burlington Township 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 Burlington Township’s library?
It logged 0.2 visits and lent 0.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Burlington Township’s civic life grade?
C Burlington Township is ahead of 27% 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 Burlington 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.