Photo: Ken (Sentrawoods) · CC BY-SA 2.0Chesaning’s library logs 2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
River Rapids District Library serves 4,748 people in and around Chesaning. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,732 visits.
What Chesaning’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 145 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
River Rapids District Library serves more than Chesaning
The library’s service area covers 4,748 people in and around Chesaning, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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.
What’s behind Chesaning’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chesaning is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. Chesaning is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Chesaning’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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Chesaning
3.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Chesaning’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 Chesaning’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
River Rapids District Library serves 4,748 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
4,507 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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, 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
River Rapids District Library, 227 East Broad Street, Chesaning.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chesaning? 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 $2.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chesaning cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $153K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $321K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $153K 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 1,644 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Chesaning
Does Chesaning have a public library?
Yes. River Rapids District Library, 227 East Broad Street, serves 4,748 people in and around Chesaning (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is River Rapids District 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 Chesaning’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chesaning’s civic life grade?
B− Chesaning is ahead of 52% 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 Chesaning.
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.