Burr Oak Township’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Burr Oak Township Library serves Burr Oak Township’s 2,639 residents. Last year it lent 1,642 print books and media and logged 1,583 visits.
What Burr Oak Township’s library is like
Burr Oak Township Library is used less than most libraries its size
Burr Oak Township Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Burr Oak Township Library offered 6 programs last year, 2.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Burr Oak Township Library spends $9 per resident, less than 96% 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.
What’s behind Burr Oak Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Burr Oak Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #644 of 697 in Michigan. 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 ($50K–$84K) 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 →
Burr Oak Township has few registered community nonprofits
0.5 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.
15.7%
15.7% of Burr Oak 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 Burr Oak 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.
Burr Oak Township Library serves 2,639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,642 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
6 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 Burr Oak Township last year.
Find it
Burr Oak Township Library, 220 South Second Street, Burr Oak.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Burr Oak 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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burr Oak Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 1,885 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burr Oak Township | Burr Oak Township Library | 0.6 | 28 | C |
| Sturgis | Sturgis District Library | — | 48 | A |
| Colon Township | Colon Township Library | — | 36 | B |
| Sherman Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Fawn River Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Bronson 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 Burr Oak Township
Does Burr Oak Township have a public library?
Yes. Burr Oak Township Library, 220 South Second Street, serves Burr Oak Township’s 2,639 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Burr Oak Township 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 Burr Oak Township’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Burr Oak Township’s civic life grade?
C Burr Oak Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on civic life, #644 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 Burr Oak 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.