Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Climax Township’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Lawrence Memorial District Library serves 2,633 people in and around Climax Township. Last year it lent 3,422 print books and media and logged 3,567 visits.
Climax Township’s library, in brief
Lawrence Memorial District Library is used less than most libraries its size
Lawrence Memorial District Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lawrence Memorial District Library offered 8 programs last year, 3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Lawrence Memorial District Library spends $15 per resident, less than 90% 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; Lawrence Memorial District Library serves 2,633 people in and around Climax Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Climax Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Climax Township is ahead of 32% 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 ($57K–$95K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Climax Township
1.8 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.0%
14.0% of Climax 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 Climax Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lawrence Memorial District Library serves 2,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lawrence Memorial District Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
3,422 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.
8 programs a year
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
Lawrence Memorial District Library, 107 North Main Street, Climax.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lawrence Memorial District Library branch.
New in Climax 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 $1.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Climax Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $56K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 804 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+ |
| Climax Township | Lawrence Memorial District Library fine-free | — | 26 | C |
| Charleston Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Leroy Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Wakeshma Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Pavilion Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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.
- System-wide. Lawrence Memorial District Library serves 2,633 people in and around Climax Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Climax Township.
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 Climax Township
Does Climax Township have a public library?
Yes. Lawrence Memorial District Library, 107 North Main Street, serves 2,633 people in and around Climax Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lawrence Memorial 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 Climax Township’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Climax Township’s civic life grade?
C Climax Township is ahead of 32% 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 Climax 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.