Central Lake’s library logs 2.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Central Lake District Library serves 3,999 people in and around Central Lake. Last year it lent 17K print books and media and logged 10K visits.
What Central Lake’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 130 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Central Lake District Library serves 3,999 people in and around Central Lake, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Central Lake’s civic life grade
Central Lake isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Central Lake District Library serves 3,999 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Central Lake District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
17K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
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, 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
Central Lake District Library, 7900 Maple Street, Central Lake.
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 Central Lake District Library branch.
New in Central Lake? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Central Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $237K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $315K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $237K 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 589 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.
- System-wide. Central Lake District Library serves 3,999 people in and around Central Lake, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Central Lake.
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 Central Lake
Does Central Lake have a public library?
Yes. Central Lake District Library, 7900 Maple Street, serves 3,999 people in and around Central Lake (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Central Lake 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 Central Lake’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 4.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Central Lake’s civic life grade?
Central Lake isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Central Lake.
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.